Teaching Art

Here's something cute I found and thought I'd share with fellow teachers and art lovers!

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Do More

“Do more than belong: participate.

Do more than care: help.

Do more than believe: practice.

Do more than be fair: be kind.

Do more than forgive: forget.

Do more than dream: work.”

—William Arthur Ward

(1921-1994); writer

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A-Tackk!!

You might think that I'm making this stuff up, but I really couldn't. I'm not that funny. Seriously.

L: Ms. D., do you know what you say when you're holding a tack?

Me: No. What?

L: You know, when you go to poke someone.

Me: But you shouldn't poke people with tacks.

L: Yeah, but you could say a-tack. Like ATTACK! Get it??

Me: HaHaHa. Silly girl!

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Celebrity Status

Today the PTA "Surprised" us with a Teacher Appreciation day. It was actually REALLY cool. They decorated the whole school like a Hollywood Award show and started the day with our celebrity stars. They also had a school-wide ballot and gave us each "personality awards." Here's mine :)

It turns out that I am "Wonderful, Beautiful, and a Good Helper!" Nice. Then, when the kids were coming in, I was given a lovely pink boquet of roseswith the most adorable card and a cup of hot coffee! What a way to start the day!

In her own handwriting, a student wrote this in the card:

Ms. D

Roses are pink,

apples are red.

I know you like apples

and this is your card

Sooo cute!

Then, we were told that there would be parents to cover our lunch! OMG. That was the best gift EVER. (I haven't had a lunch in over four weeks...It was heaven.) So I go upstairs to the faculty lounge to eat lunch to find that they've decorated up there too. We even got a red carpet and everything! I was expecting pizza but no, we had a full-out buffet for lunch. There was so much food that we'll probably have some left over for tomorrow (yess!!!).

It was a fun day, and the school really got into it. The older girls even came up with the idea of asking us for our autographs! haha. Well, I wish everyday was teacher appreciation day. However, then everyone would want to be a teacher! We can't have that!

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Alice in Wonderland

Something I overheard during lunch. Enjoy!

L: I Know who that is. On the front of your lunch pail.
M: Yeah, it's Allison.
L: Allison? No! ... Her name is Alice.
M: Yeah huh. You know... Allison Wonderland!

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My Little Pity-Party

Dear Ms....,

Thank you for your recent application to _______ School District for the position of Elementary Teacher. The difficult job of screening applications has been completed. There were many fine candidates however not all applicants could be chosen for an interview. This email is to inform you that you have not been selected for an interview at this time.

..USD sincerely wishes you the best in all your employment endeavors,

Sincerely,
Blah Blah Blech!

I get at least one letter like this a week. After about 20 weeks, I'm about to break down! Every time one comes into my inbox, I cringe. I don't deal well with failure. Normally, I push and push until I get what I want however, it doesn't seem to be working thus far. I'm so done.

Yeah, yeah... I know what you're saying "but Ashley, It's a hard market for EVERYONE right now...There are just too many displaced teachers....just wait it out...you'll get a job, don't worry!" Well, thanks for the encouragement, but I feel like I'm at the end of my rope. How am I supposed to get a job if they won't even give me an interview?? Gahhhhhhhh!!!!! It's just that after months and MONTHS of job searching, I'm coming up empty-handed. I don't see a light at the end of this very long tunnel.

You know what kills me most?? Do you? It's the fact that I KNOW there are teachers out there who hate what they're doing. They give the kids worksheets all day and don't have the passion it takes to be an above-average teacher. They're sitting in their classrooms, biding time, waiting to retire and I'm on the outside banging on the door until my hands are bloody. Why do I try so hard?

Thanks for indulging in my pity-party... more upbeat posts to follow...

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My Kingdom for a Doughnut

It has come to my attention that I haven't shared this delightful little story with you all. Be forewarned, it's pretty funny (or at least I thought so when it was happening!).

A couple weeks ago, I was given yet another delightful, if not diabetes-causing, doughnut for one birthday or another (see Teaching is a lot of Calories post) . Seeing as it was the middle of class, I put it on my desk. About ten minutes later I caught one of the girls scoping out my snack. I was sitting at my desk talking to a few students about their work when, out of the corner of my eye, I see her grab a piece of my doughnut!! My doughnut! Right off my desk! Right in front of me! I was stunned into non-action.

It took all of three seconds to execute this well-thought out plan. She snatched a piece, stuffed it in her mouth and ran off in record time. When I finally realized what had happened she was already five feet away. I called her name and she froze. She turned slowly and looked at me with her big brown eyes. When I saw her, I almost laughed. She looked as guilty as a cat who has just eaten a canary (especially because there was a0 little doughnut peeking out of the corner of her mouth).

I called her over and she started crying.
Me: Why did you do that?
Her: It was an accident.
me: (almost laughing again) How was that an accident?
Her: I donno. I'm soooorrryyyyyyy!
Me: Why did you do that?
Her: I like doughnuts. I wanted it.
Me: Okay, but I think you need to move your stick and have a time out for touching something on Ms. D's desk.
Her: okay.

Later that day she had to tell her mom why she wasn't on green. When she finally whispered the reason in her mom's ear, her mom's eyes became HUGE! Ahh... it was such a funny situation, I almost didn't punish her, but I had to... funny girl!

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My FAVORITE Story Book EVERRR!!

I love picture books, and I enjoy reading them to kids. The simplicity of the books and their fun stories make them so enjoyable to read. I have many in my own collection that range from classics and fairy tales to newer books and contemporary stories. However, when it comes to reading a picture book to a class, I have one ultimate favorite!!



The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

This book is the most fun "fairy tale" book to read to a class. It's narrator, Jack, has no clue what he's doing. He puts the table of contents before the title page and skips pages in the book. Century-old tales are cut up, ripped apart, and thrown back together haphazardly to create a menagerie of new tales. It is witty, sarcastic, and hilarious.


Caution: this book does say "stupid"(gasp!) several times and the class goes wild. I wouldn't really use it for a read aloud for classes under second or third grade because they might not understand the smart-aleck anecdotes throughout the stories!


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::..Oh, the Sings they Sing..:::

Every morning we sing "America the Beautiful". I thought you'd enjoy their rendition of it :)

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For ever wave of gray;
For purple mountain majesty
A-BOVE the fruity plain!

AMERICA! AMERICA! (shouting)
God shed His grace on dee,
And crowned my good with bro-ther-hood,
From sea to shining SEAAAAAA.!!

Haha... you should hear them in the morning. They make me laugh! I mean, ever wave of grey, what is that?... and why is dee so special in God's eyes?? Silly kids!

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Marble Painting

Marble Painting: Not as clean as I thought it would be, but A LOT more fun!

I've always wanted to try marble painting, but just never have. So, I decided to try it with preschoolers :)

Wow, was it messy! I thought, "What a great project. Marbles. In a box with paint. Contained= no mess." Boy, was I wrong! Little marbles with black paint went flying almost every time. As I type, there are little black stripes across the project table and on a couple chairs. Good thing it's washable!

In spite of the mess (actually because of it), we created BEAUTIFUL zebras. I love how they came out and now I just want to do another marble painting project... but what?! Any ideas?

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ATTN: Awesome new BLOG!

I LOVE photography. It has always been a passion of mine as an art and as a hobby. I have a couple GREAT blogs on my blog-roll on the right of this page but today I have to plug this totally awesome new site.

Its from a budding new artist who has a unique eye for photography. His vision and composure inspires me daily. He has a passion for the art and holds himself to ridiculously high standards, and it shows. Besides the fact that he is incredibly talented, he's cute to boot!

haha

Check out his site here!

Added bonus: you just might see a familiar face :)

Tell me what you think...

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LA Zoo Craziness!

Ahh... the zoo with lots and lots of marveling minds! So much to see and sooo much do do. We had a fun-filled day with a picnic lunch and a lot of walking.

I'm exhausted.

Field trips are hard work.

Thank goodness my BFF was able to come :) Love you Alisa!

The day was fabulous until we went into the aviary.

CAUTION: the rest of this story is not for the faint of heart...

So, we were tired and ambled into the aviary.

We were looking at the baby flamingos when we saw a mommy and daddy duck and their little ducklings. See how cute they are?!

Anyway, so Mommy and Daddy duck walk on this rock and run into a bush. They decide that the only way down is to jump maybe five feet down. The first two ducklings are pushed down, but make it just fine. Then, the whole family leaves two little ones up on the rock.

The last one jumps and they all seem to be ok when one starts spinning on the floor. I think it broke its neck. Mommy and Daddy then started attacking it (to put it out of its misery?). By then, I had pushed the two little ones I was with to the next exhibit. Thankfully they didn't catch on, however Alisa and I are now scarred for life. It was the most depressing thing I have ever seen.

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Music to my Ears

These five year olds are soooo LOUD! I mean, how can 18 tiny children make my eardrums bleed? I have no idea. We have a quiet jar (aka- ice cream party bribe jar) that encourages them to be quiet when they're on the rug. But during their activity time, I'm at a loss. I am constantly shushing them (you know, that low but ever-present "shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...") to no avail. It was even to the point that some of the kids started telling ME it was to loud.

So what's a poor teacher to do? Play music! I guess I got this genius idea while sleeping or something, but this morning I grabbed my favorite Mozart CD and an instrumental guitar one as well. I thought that maybe the Mozart would lull their kiddie brains into a learning oasis or at the very least the background music might put a cap on the noise level. While it didn't work as well as previously desired, there was a marked difference. I only had to quiet them down twice today! Although, this may have been due to my more relaxed mental state because I was listening to the relaxing music, but whatever works right?? Well, seeing that it was my first day trying it, I'll keep you updated on further testing.

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Teacher's Prayer

Technology and the President

I bought my first Mac on Saturday!! WOOHOOO!!!! (oK, thank you for sharing in my excitement.) I LOVE technology. I feel like it brings us closer and opens the door for us to access not only information, but new ways of learning that information.

I absolutely adore the use of technology in the classroom. There is something about it that draws in attention to your lesson. In my student teaching and various sub jobs, I have been fortunate enough to get to play with the smartboard. It projects your computer screen onto an interactive whiteboard so that the students (or you) can write, draw, and move images for the class. It's AMAZING and I really hope that I can use one in my own classroom soon. Actually, all I really need is a projector. I love bringing images and animation into the lesson and projecting images from the web onto the board makes it soooo much easier. Imagine having the technology to answer ANY question at ANY time in front of the class. Imagine pulling up millions of images of ANYTHING across the history of mankind in seconds. The possibilities are just mindboggling! I'm so glad that I'm a teacher in this wonderful age of technology.

However, apparently our President doesn't feel quite the same way:
"And meanwhile, you're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank that high on the truth meter. And with iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations — none of which I know how to work — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it's putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy."

While I agree with him in that Xboxes and Playstations aren't the most wholesome way to spend our free time, I completely disagree that information could be a distraction to us and our country. I think that this new age of Wikipedia and online information overload teachers can begin to create good researchers even earlier. We can show our students how to find true, reliable sources that support our own arguments. Maybe because President Obama doesn't know how to work these new-fangled contraptions he is a little scared of the possibilities that they hold. I, for one, can not believe that our president cannot see the benefits to new technology since he is the first President with a Facebook page...

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Happy Mommy's Day!

So, I'm not a Mommy...yet... but I'd like you to meet my beautiful Goddaughter, Vanessa!

I think that in some ways, being a Godmommy is better than actually having one of my own. I get to spoil her and give her anything she wants without having to worry about the meltdown later. We have had a couple of slumber parties where we got to hang out ALL WEEKEND! We go to the zoo, take train rides, have picnics and tea parties, and stay up late watching cartoons. She is just so much fun to hang out with! Vanessa is the best because not only does she love me more than she loves her Nino, she loves the dodgers as much as we do too!

She has bled Dodger blue since before we took her to her first game. Now, she knows the player's names and loves to cheer "Lets go Dodgers!!" On my Facebook, there's my favorite video of her and her Angel-loving Daddy at a Dodger/Angel game last year. It's HILARIOUS... go check it out!

Thank you Nessa for making it so easy to be your adoring Godmother!

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Parents, Babies, and Marriage...oh my!!

The kids were full of questions today about my life...awkwardness abounds...

Parents
Me: "Who knows what Sunday is?"
kids: "Mother's Day!!"
M: "Do you have a mom?"
me: "yes, of course I do."
M: "Whats her name?"
me: "uhh... Mrs. D." :P
M: So you're Ms. D and your mom's name is Mrs. D."
T: "And your dad's name is Mr. D."
Me: "Haha.. that's right!"

Babies
Me: "So, on Sunday we celebrate all of our Mommies and tell them how much we love them."
S: "Do you have kids?"
Me: "No. why?"
S: "Because you're too young!"

Marriage
P: "Ms. D., are you married?"
Me: "No."
P: "Thank goodness!"

Geeze. What a Friday!

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Mischief Makers

Kids get into the darndest situations! OMG... I don't even KNOW how many funny situations I find them in. They get stuck in their sweatshirts daily and I am constantly running over to the jungle gym to untangle their little pretzel bodies. Today was a topper though!

After lunch, a little boy runs up to me and is just about crying. He wines, "Ms. D! Ms. D! My leg is stuck!!" I was thinking... how can your leg be stuck if you're running?? Nevertheless I look down. I almost choked due to stifling a laugh. This little monkey had found a zip tie and attached it to his leg during lunch. Then, he panicked because it wouldn't come off. I told him we'd have to cut off his foot. He didn't believe me. So, I cut off the zip tie and saved his life all in the course of a day's work!


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Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." -Henry Adams

I know that this is true because teachers in my life have affected me greatly, even to this day. So, on this very special day that is dedicated to the teachers that love, care for, and teach us more than textbooks ever could... THANK YOU! So, in chronological order:

Thank you to my very first teachers, my parents. You taught me more than I could ever write down or even count. You taught me how to be a good student.
Thank you to my second teachers, my two younger sisters. You both have built my character and taught me how to be a teacher.
Thank you to my favorite fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Stevens. Your wacky ways and love of books has inspired me from my first day in your classroom- I bet you don't even know how much I strive to be like you as I am becoming a teacher on my own!
Thank you to my favorite seventh grade teacher, whose name I forgot but who's actions live on in my memory. Thank you for always expecting the best and never settling for less- It's helped me expect more from myself.
Thank you to my very first above-par college professor, Professor Turner. You were outspoken and clearly a bit insane, but you inspired me to take a stand. To believe in something. To DO something.
Thank you to my favorite professor, Dr. Marchevsky. Your belief that my writing could be better, that my argument could be better, that my structure could be better helped me try harder and write better.
Thank you to my two wonderful credentialing professors. Dr. Persiani, you continually inspire me withwords of encouragement and your willingness to go 1000% for your class, whether it be elementary or university. Dr. Beltran, by leading by example you taught me that everyone can be an exceptional teacher with the right tools and attitude. Thank you for giving me both.

There are tons of teachers in our lives, even students are teachers many times. These are just the ones that I want to thank today for making me who I am.

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Book Review: Olivia Kidney and the Exit Academy

This is the second book in a three book series. It was actually re-named Olivia Kidney Stops for No One. It's a great story for those classes that say "We want something scary!!" They all do. I was never a fan of goosebumps and you can't give them anything actually scary because they're still kids (event though many do watch horror movies with their parents, but that's another post altogether..)

Olivia Kidney is able to talk to spirits! This book is a great big mystery and is written in a way that both adults and students will enjoy the humor! I would say that it is a good read aloud for grades 3 and up and that by fourth grade, students could read it by themselves.

What's really convenient is that if you used it as a read-aloud, student's would be inspired to read the rest of the series on their own!! Way to go you inspirational teacher you :)

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