It's Official!

I'm a teacher!

...it says so on my teacher ID!!

I feel so official now. AND I can now get discounts at Barnes an Noble and Michaels!! YAY!! haha

xxOOxx

Field Trips are the Craziest way to Spend a Day!

Getting paid to spend the day at the movies?? What an awesome day! Well, if you don't take into account the 18 crazy kids, the 14 crazy parents, and enough popcorn to feed a small village... then yeah!

Today I took this mob to the movie theater to watch Oceans. It was actually a great day and the kids were very good (for a group of 18 five year olds). Luckily, there were only four other people in the theatre this morning! The kids got into the movie and are now enamored with whales. I think I might have to teach them the different types because during the movie, I heard them calling a Beluga whale an Orca. Lol. They are full of new questions and wonder of the sea. It's so exciting! Despite having a fun time, I am totally exhausted. I think I over thought the whole fieldtrip thing and let myself worry too much. Not too bad for the first time though! Next fieldtrip...ALBERTSONS!

xxOOxx

HUGGGSS!!!!

Hugs, Hugs, and MORE HUGS!!!! Oh ,how I love Love LOVE hugs! This is easily one of the best perks about working with the young ones. Not one day goes by that I don't get a gentle squeeze from out of the blue. There is something so genuine and honest about these hugs. They come from the simple desire to show someone love. Unlike adults, who sometimes hug out of respect, simple greeting, or some other ulterior motive, children seem to have this uncomplicated compulsion for hugging. I have noticed that there are a few different types of hugs that I recieve throughout the day

1. The "Oh My Goodness, I Haven't Seen You In Almost Ten Minutes" Hug: This hug is quick and usually has a small velocity due to the running start. It is usually followed by a breif upward glance and a warm smile. It makes me remember that they really do like me :)
2. The "Sneak Attack" Hug: This hug is usually unexpected and comes from either the back or sides. I don't know what triggers this hug, but I don't really care either. There is nothing more lovely than realizing that you have a kindergartener (or two) sqqueezing the life out of your legs for no apparent reason.
3. The "I'm Hurt" Hug: This hug is usually paired with tears due to a fall or hurt feelings. It usually follows a nice pep talk and maybe an ice pack (in extremely life threatning situations). I like this hug because it makes me feel like I have magical healing powers.
4. The "I Miss My Mommy/Daddy But You'll Do For Now" Hug: This is the saddest hug because sometimes it comes with tears and it always contains the strongest emotions behind it. Unlike the "I'm Hurt" hug, this one isn't fixed as easily. Many children never need this hug, but when they do, it's the most important one of all!
5. The "I Love You Miss D." Hug: This one is obviously detected. The child will walk up to you, look you in the eyes, and say "I love you Miss D." and give you the biggest hug ever! These always make me smile because of the unabashed declaration of love.

There are more, but these are my favorites.

xxOOxx

Subbing, a Blessing in Disguise

I guess by definition, I am currently a 'career substitute teacher.' Although I am frustrated by the lack of actual teaching jobs at the moment, let me just say that I DO love substituting! Subbing is great, in fact, I'll even bullet point the list as to why:

1. I get to visit new classrooms weekly and see how they are set up and how well the setups work.
2. I get to steal other teacher's ideas and tricks, such as how they organize their libraries and their little class routines and organization strategies. One teacher hung all of her posters (she had a lot) from hangers and had a rolling rack to keep them organized... better than in a dusty box in my opinion!
3. I get to meet cool new kids and see them freak out when I call them by name after the first hour. I like to go around and try to see how many names I can memorize by the end of the day and they always are thrown off when I call their name from across the classroom!
4. Visiting so many different schools gives me a good frame of reference for when I actually am able to choose the school I work at. Also, I'll be able to bring more ideas to my new school of choice- or the Charter school that I'm going to open haha.
5. I get to put many of my attention-getters and sponge activities into use daily! Not to mention that I get to play games with the kids and it's considered okay because I'm "just a sub."

There are so many reasons I enjoy subbing and I know one day it'll pay off. I pick up so many things that I KNOW I would like to incorporate into my classroom and some things that I now know I would stay away from. Either way, I think subbing is a good use of my time for now.

xxOOxx

Love Notes

I love Love LOVE invented spelling. I believe that there's nothing more amazing than watching a student trying to make sense of our crazy English language. I mean c'mon there are soooo many sound combinations (ae, oi, th...), special rules (silent e, when two vowels go walking...), and just plain sounds to keep straight! It intrigues me how children think through words and spell the sounds that they hear- just like I've taught them! Sometimes I don't even realize that there is a particular sound in a word until they spell it for me!

*This is a letter I got from Annabelle. She said, "Miss D., I wrote you sentences because I know you like to read sentences." I love it!

I haven't been teaching very long at all, especially when you count up the hours I've spend in any given classroom, yet I have a large box FULL of drawings and little love notes. I consider these a perk of the job! The students take so much time to write them and are so so so proud when they hand them to you. Their little faces light up when you tape one to the board and give them a big smile.

*Here's one that I got on Friday from Xavier. I taught the class how to make symmetrical hearts on Valentine's Day and he took it to another level! I particularly like the drawings ;)

xxOOxx