First Grade Follies...

I forget...

2012-02-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

...that I'm 38 years old. I forget that I don't have the flexibility or the arm strength I had in my youth. But when a first grader asks me to swing from the monkey bars or play on the swings, I don't say "no", I jump right in and turn back into a 6 year old. On Friday I decided to swing my way up the "A" shape made by the braces on the swing-set...you know - grab the bars and swing side-to-side until you make your way up to the top of the swings. So - with the prompting of some of my students, I did. I was happy I could still do it (haven't tried in probably 15 years), but now am paying the price. My arms, shoulders and upper back muscles are SO sore today! Time to get back to the gym, I suppose...or remember that I'm 38. (naaahhhh - I'll go to the gym instead)

Another boy...

2012-02-11T12:59:00.000-08:00

Yep - got a new student on Thursday...another boy. I'm now at 17 boys and 5 girls. My newest student is a sweet boy, who has the potential to be a handful, I can already tell. His mischievous grin gives him away. He is smart and right on track with the rest of my first graders, which is a very pleasant surprise. So - after reconfiguring my room a bit to make things look and flow better - I think I am ready for a new week. This quarter is flying by. We're already at mid-term. Wow! My babies are almost 2nd graders.

This week was really busy and emotional. Fighting to do what's right for ones students has always been a passion of mine and when I feel that is threatened, I am like a lioness when it comes to protecting them. I will always stand on the side of what's best for them. I am not a teacher for me, I am a teacher for them and I will always do what I think is right even if it means making an unpopular decision or two. It's one of those things where I would rather take the heat for a decision I've made than put my students in a position of failing or falling short of what I know they are capable of achieving. Sometimes the politics of teaching cloud the reasons we teach. There are days even I need to check myself...my attitude and my thought process, but trust and believe me when I say - I never lose sight of what's best for them.

It's now the weekend...the glorious weekend. A time to recharge, renew and reflect. Some of my favorite things about teaching are the hilarious things my students say and the sweet things they do. I wish I could just audio tape a day and edit together a string of funnies for you all. Out of the blue, someone will say something that is hilarious or made funnier by its context. "Ms. Eklund - D's a vampire." Imagine D sitting at his desk, lips pulled back showing his teeth. Ok - he looked more like a rabid dog, but....I'll give him 'vampire' instead. Stuff like that....funny! Also, this week I had a student bring me a present. It was wrapped in a piece of spiral notebook paper...and inside was a nice, brand new pencil. It was so sweet! "Ms. Eklund - I brought this for you." he said with a big grin. It was absolutely adorable and he was so honored when I sharpened it and began to use it. Such a sweet, sweet boy!

Do I miss making money? Yes - because as a teacher - financial security will never happen. BUT - in no other profession will I get 'vampires' and presents wrapped in spiral notebook paper. ;) or gently used LOVE erasers wrapped in silver thread...and Oregon teddy bears....or hand drawn pictures....or first grade hugs. Nope, I wouldn't trade this for anything.

My favorite comments from the past three days...

2012-02-08T06:41:00.002-08:00

I have been working on a pretty intensive reading unit on questioning strategies for my formal observation, so my free time has been limited. Just to make sure I get something up here, I've saved some gems from the past three days. I love my job, there's no hiding that...if for no other reason than hearing things like the following...

"Hmmm...watch out, D's a vampire!"

"Ms. Eklund, you and Ms. D (my student teacher) are the QUEENS of the classroom."

"Ms. Eklund, Jose H. just called you "hhhhhhhotttttt"...and he wasn't kidding around." (this one specifically elicited a tremendous amount of giggles from the classroom)

"I'm pretty sure I'm never going to 2nd grade. (why?) Because first grade is a blast!"

"Ummm...Ms. Eklund? I lost my tooth." (as he walks up literally spitting his front tooth into his hand. Suddenly, three other kiddos had loose teeth. Ahh the power of suggestion.)

"Ms. Eklund? What does 'sexy' mean?" (hahahahaha - NOT touching that one. I told the student to ask his parent. "That's a great question for mommy or daddy," was my exact reply.)

"Ms. Eklund - watch!" (picture a kid taking his empty milk carton and smashing it on his head like a can.)" - seriously - that kid has watched too many Keith Stone commercials.

I'm trying to write things down...but it's been a pretty busy week. I am humbled by my students and their grace. They make me laugh every day.

In what other profession...

2012-02-05T15:49:00.001-08:00

I received this article from my mother-in-law and found it to be quite thought-provoking. Please read and respond.

http://m.examiner.com/k-12-in-topeka/in-what-other-profession

I will respond to all comments, so keep them coming!!

Heaviness...

2012-02-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

...is a word to describe how this week feels to me. I'm not trying to get all "old school" on you - just merely trying to explain how this week has been. It has felt heavy with emotion, drama, expectations, learning, growth, compassion, understanding, love, and intensity. It has been a busy week with lots of classroom visitors, potential parents and observations; of emotional highs and lows. These are all good things, but coupled with academics and social / emotional issues - it has left my class, my student teacher and I feeling tired and spent and emotional. I'm glad we have the weekend to rest and recharge our batteries, for both students AND teachers need this mental rest.

This week I spent a large part being a confidante to other teachers and students. Holding class discussions with former classrooms regarding behavior and expectations; mentoring students and helping them to make better choices; generally just stepping in to offer assistance wherever needed. There were lots of needs. Emotionally charged students making poor decisions because their home lives are in turmoil. "Daddy's in prison, again, I'm so disappointed in him. I don't get to see him anymore. I just want to bike riding with him with our shirts off like we did last time." - "Grandma promised she's quit smoking and she didn't, now she's dead." - "I just miss my mommy so so much!" - "I don't want to be here at school, because I hate it here...Mom and Dad got divorced and I have to come here. I want to go home. My brother doesn't like me, but I want to be home. I don't know what to do." Add to this the normal tender first grade feelings like "she hurt my feelings when she didn't play with me" and "he looked at me funny" and "he said it was MY turn to play on the swing, but he didn't let me" and it makes for a very delicate, soft-hearted, long week.

While this post is heavy - there were bright, light moments as well. The proposal, the paper smelling, licking dirt off our shoes, Oregon BCS bears and gently used LOVE erasers, third graders stopping by on their lunch time to say HI and brag about how their behavior has changed since my visit to their room...all of which are amazingly light and bright moments that soften the edges of heavy.

Weeks such as this - these self-reflective, positive, busy, heart-wrenching weeks only help to reaffirm the importance of my job. The reality (and reminder) that teaching is much more than academics alone - it is social and emotional and so very, very full of love and compassion. These weeks illustrate in great detail the responsibility that falls upon the shoulders of those who choose it...this profession...this sometimes utterly exhausting, amazing, life-changing, fulfilling profession.

Quotes that matter to me...that guide me, humble and remind me....

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Ghandi

and

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before

starting to improve the world." - Anne Frank.

I think I wish for everyone to have heavy weeks such as this. They are excellent reminders of ones place and importance in this world.

The power of suggestion...

2012-02-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

is strong in this class. If someone hurts their arm, there are two or three students whose arms automatically begin to ache. If someone falls out of their chair, someone else will fall out of theirs. If someone's feelings get hurt - yep - you guessed it...it goes around and around. Today was no different...this time it revolved around losing teeth. One student's tooth popped out...quite naturally - "Ms. Eklund - I lost my tooth!!" as he holds up a nice clean, white tooth. I sent him off to the nurse and he comes back with his tooth in a baggy knowing he's getting a visit from the tooth fairy. Within 2 minutes I hear, "Ms. Eklund! I lost my tooth too!" as she holds up a very bloody stump of a tooth with her mouth filling with blood. Oh my. Suddenly three more students are complaining of their loose teeth and fingers are jiggling teeth everywhere! So - I had to have "the tooth talk"...the talk that goes something like this, "Friends, we do not pull our teeth out until they're ready. Which means - no pulling or tugging on a tooth just to make it loose enough to pull out." You could actually hear the kiddos groan and slowly slide their wiggly fingers out of their mouths...guilty as charged. ;o)

The power of suggestion...it is strong in these wee ones. I spend lots of time suggesting things like how fun it is to learn new things, positive self-talk, wrong from right, ....and how to be a good friend. :) Trust me, it's all about how you word things. My class isn't perfect, but slowly we're getting there. Every day we make progress towards becoming the best firsties we can be. Did you know I have the best.job.EVER? ;)

Paper, rough play, a proposal, and licking dirt off our fingers...

2012-02-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

Today was an interesting day. It started out with one of my students, I shall call him "J", informing me that he can smell through paper. "Ms. Eklund, did you know I can smell through paper?" (you can??) "Yep, I just put the paper up to my nose and smell right through it." haha

Then there came the "rough play" at recess. Four boys decided to play rough with five 2nd grade girls, which involved all five girls going to the nurse for various injuries. Hugging and pushing and shoving. The boys' reactions to getting in trouble? One was mortified, truly repentant - crying hysterically - knowing that he had disappointed not only me, but his parents as well. He even asked for his apology letter back so he could add more detail to it, explaining he knew how upset and disappointed his parents would be in him. (awwwe) One was sort of repentant - knowing it wasn't right, but gave me the "eh, whatever" look. One turned himself in - wasn't implicated at all, but he knew the right thing to do was to admit fault. The last one laughed at me...to my face...and smiled the whole time, even writing his apology letter in the 3rd person. (This was the boy who pushed a girl down and then stomped on her stomach.) Hmmmm....All four boys received the appropriate discipline for their actions.

(Something to ponder? I hope to know these students in 20 years...I really want to know they grow up to become. ;)

Then came the romantic proposal on the playground. Imagine a boy wearing his CTR (Choose the Right) ring, pulling it off his finger, getting down on one knee and proposing to a girl in our class - offering his ring to her. She replied with a polite, "No."

And how did the day end you might ask? Me having to tell a student to quit licking the dirt off his fingers. Seriously. Not joking.

Which leads me into a non-comprehensive list of things I never thought I would have to say in first grade...

1) Please quit chewing on your clothes.

2) Please quit sucking on your shirt.

3) Please quit cutting your pants, shirt, hair, or anything else non paper related.

4) Our hands do NOT go there.

5) Friends, we do NOT eat crayons, glue or lick our desks.

6) It is not ok to stab our friends with pencils.

7) It is not ok to tell your friend you want to have sex with them.

8) It is not ok to hump our chairs and make fake orgasm sounds.

9) You are NOT a werewolf. (yes, I am). No - I promise you, you really aren't.

This last list did NOT happen all today...but it's all happened so far this year :) These are just more reasons I love being a teacher. ;) And how was YOUR day?

The love continues...

2012-02-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of gifts I've received this week. Two Oregon BCS bears (one new and one gently loved) and one slightly used "LOVE" eraser with a piece of sparkly thread wrapped around it (pulled out of her own scarf, I might add), because "I just loooooove you Ms. Eklund. I can't explain it - I just love you! You make my heart sing!"

Awwwwww - come on...adorable, right? and the fact that the eraser is used...and the thread is from her own scarf...geez...she totally gets an "A".

Just a couple more reasons I love being a teacher. :)

A total disservice...

2012-02-01T13:06:00.001-08:00

I just read through my entire blog - from start to finish - and I have to admit there are some seriously funny stories here and some very, very serious ones as well. I have been doing a huge disservice by not blogging more about daily teaching life. This has to change! So here are some of my favorite things from the past two weeks.

Today:

Our class projector stopped working last week and I put in a help desk ticket to have it fixed. The update said it would be fixed by this Friday, so I informed my students that we would need to be patient. They have been very excited to watch a Martin Luther King, Jr. video and see his picture, so every day they ask if the projector is fixed. So - it just so happened that today a gentleman came while the students were at lunch to fix the projector (the lamp was blown out apparently). When my students returned from lunch, I had them sit down and I turned on the projector...they sat at their desks with their fingers, toes, feet, EVERYTHING crossed just willing the projector to work. As it turns on, the class starts clapping and jumping up and down and one of my students blurts out, "Mrs. Eklund - you fixed it! It's like teacher magic or something!" hahahahaha I then faced the very obvious dilemma of letting them believe in "teacher magic" or confessing the truth to them. Hmmm....what to do?? Don't worry - I told them the truth. As for "teacher magic" they still don't know how white out works, so I still have that going for me ;)

Tuesday:

"Ms. Eklund - I just can't go to second grade." (Why honey?) "Because you won't be my teacher anymore." (It's ok, sweety, I'll still see you every day. You'll be too smart to stay in first grade by the end of the year!) "That's it! I'm not learning ANYTHING else." Awwww... :) how cute is that!

Monday:

"Ms. Eklund - my dad can't come to see me anymore." (Why honey?) "Because he doesn't have any papers." Hmmm...try explaining immigration to a 6 year old. It's a tough, tough thing. He got extra hugs from me today.

From January 13th:

I had one of those "this is why I teach" moments today - you know, the kind that reaches into your chest and grabs your heart and shakes it. I was teaching about MLK, Jr. - I was absolutely "on fire" about him, downright "preaching" about his "dream" and what segregation was/is, about how and why he was killed, how he fought for peace using his words, and etc, when one of my students raises his hand and says, "Ms. Eklund...so, did his dream come true?" As my eyes filled with tears, I asked him to look around the classroom, then asked him, "Look around - what do you see? Do YOU think his dream came true?" He looked around at his room full of racially diverse classmates and said, "Yep - I think it did."

Wow. It was a powerful moment. My student teacher and I had tears in our eyes and were consoled by young sweet ones telling us, "it's ok...no need to cry" while they handed us Kleenex. :)

Yea - today was a good, good day. My love/teaching cup runneth over.

Call it a New Year's Resolution - but in February...

2012-02-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

So - this is it...I need to get back to blogging. I have a friend who blogs every day...so I'm inspired now to get back to sharing my feelings and thoughts about teaching and life...OUTSIDE of Facebook. Let's see how this goes, shall we? Today is day 1...I hope I'm still blogging on day 2. ;)

You know you make an impact when...

2011-01-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

one of your former students from your first year of teaching (4 years ago) - who changed schools three years ago, runs across the basketball court to come give you a hug. Especially when the basketball court you're on is NOT at the same school. Awwwwww. He melted my heart and gave me an instant reminder of exactly why I teach.

I coach the girls jr. high basketball team and we had an "away" game at another school last night. My former student saw me and ran across the court to give me a hug. I love this little guy so much and have missed him since he moved after first grade. It's wonderful to know that he still thinks of me and misses me too. For those of you who know this story, he is the little guy whose father was injured, left behind by his group, then eaten by coyotes while crossing the border into the US two years ago. He is amazingly resilient, sweet, loving and kind. He is the kind of kid that makes me feel "lucky" to be a teacher.

The Impact of Involved Parents...A or F, you decide...

2011-01-27T08:22:00.000-08:00

I recently saw this article online and posted it to FB - I would like to have an honest and real discussion about parental involvement. Take a look and let me know what you think. Be honest and ready to have a good discussion.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/01/26/florida.grading.parents/index.html

Facebook and blogging...

2011-01-27T08:11:00.000-08:00

So - with Facebook suddenly being the rage now, I've found myself not blogging at all, rather using FB as a blog. That needs to stop - people that are my friends on Facebook are now going to have to come HERE to find the cute and interesting stories about my firsties. :) Additionally, this gives me more freedom and space to write what I'm really thinking about and not be held back by length limits. As with this new post, you'll also see a new design and layout. I like this layout better, because it fits with my "window on the world" philosophy.

I want to use this blog as a discussion board of sorts - soliciting and gaining feedback from you, my intelligent friends, on educational and school issues that may or may not effect you personally. I hope to spur thoughtful and interesting discussions AND share with you the funny or serious stories of my class. I am inspired not only by their grace and humility, but by the insights of others.

I hope you come back to read my blog often and comment on things that inspire you.

Year 4...already...WOW!

2010-08-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

I've just completed the third week of school marking the beginning of my 4th year of teaching. I am amazed at how quickly time has flown by. I remember my first day of teaching and being scared sh**less - literally. Petrified that something horrible would happen...and now here I am four years later a much more confident and able teacher who has grown so much! My passion for teaching is still on fire and I feel so much better about who I am as a teacher, mentor, pseudo-parent, confidante, counselor and friend. My students from these years have changed my life in so many wonderful and humbling ways. They have taught me patience and grace, humility and love. They have reinforced the power of a single word, for better or worse. They have made me laugh and cry both happy and sad tears. They have touched my heart in ways they'll never fully understand. I am honored and blessed to be a part of such an amazing profession.

Each year presents its own set of challenges, whether it's a new lesson plan format, new training, new time constraints, observations, and student issues. Each challenge, I've found, has only helped me to grow as a teacher. To learn from my mistakes (and hopefully the mistakes of others), and to learn more about the politics and bureaucracy that partner with this profession. I am amazed at how much more I still have to learn.

This year I only have 18 students in my classroom, thus far. While the "number" is low, the behavior issues are high - which tends to even things out. I almost would rather have a large class size with NO behavior issues, than a small one with lots of issues. My challenge this year is five years old with blue eyes and blonde hair. Our most recent challenge was 4 full-on tantrums in one day. By tantrums I mean wall-paper peeling pitched screaming, shoe throwing, kicking, hitting and punching episodes. That day left me pretty well speechless and firmly convinced that those days are far better forms of birth control than the pill could ever be. ;) He can be a wonderfully sweet little boy until he's not. He is a smart student, which is wonderful. Now we just have to find out the key to his behavior puzzle...which I am absolutely driven to do. I WILL figure out and solve these issues. :)

The rest of my class is filled with students who face their own set of challenges, but are brilliant all the same. They are ALL (including my tantrum student) cute, smart and funny and I look forward to all the things they get to teach me this year.

I hope to blog on a regular basis now that school has started and will be using this avenue more than Facebook to communicate classroom stories.

Thanks for reading!!

Ugh...dealing with the pain of abuse...

2010-04-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

Over the three years of teaching I've had to deal with two cases of parent/guardian abuse. It is, by far, the hardest thing I've ever dealt with as a teacher. It breaks my heart to see these little babies, really, come to school bruised and battered. My most recent case (which I can't really talk about yet due to legal issues) hit me out of the blue. I would never have suspected the guardians of abusing my student. As a teacher, you do all you can to protect these students who spend their day with you. You work hard to provide a loving, caring, SAFE environment for them and you hope and pray that they have that same SAFE environment at home. When you find out they don't, it shatters your faith in people and makes you realize that your job is infinitely more important than it was before you found out...because that safe place you provide at school, as it turns out, might be the ONLY safe place they have to go.

My poor little student...I hope he/she is safe this weekend.

Pictures!!

2010-04-17T09:38:00.001-07:00

If you want to see the latest shots of my sweet students, check out my SCHOOL website. I've uploaded some shots from varying points in our school year. The latest is our foray into the world of solids/liquids/gas. We made "Oobleck" a non-Newtonian substance that is both a solid (when under pressure) and a liquid (when the pressures is released). The students had a GREAT time getting messy and learning about matter.

http://swift.creightonschools.org/squawpeak/leklund/index.php?section=gallery

Conversation Buddies...

2010-04-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

So, I've just started a non-verbal conversation buddy project in my class. You may think "non-verbal conversation"??? How does that work? Well, I've partnered my students up and given them a notebook and clipboard. Every day for 20 minutes they partner up and have a "written conversation" via their notebook. They have to "talk" via paper. It's been pretty funny thus far as students are getting used to writing down their conversations versus having them verbally. My plan is to collect their notebooks each week and read through them - to see how their spelling, punctuation and so forth are going. Additionally, I want to see what they're saying to each other. This gives me a peek into their unaware first grade psyche. So far I've seen lots of "love" notes about different students in the class, but here is my favorite from this past week. I'm still trying to digest it, to be honest. There's a lot going on here.

This is a boy/girl partnership. Let's call them "Abby" and "Ben". I've put the name of the responder in parentheses so you can keep track. Additionally, all other students' names have been changed.

Day #1:

"Do you have a boyfriend?" (asked Ben).

"NO!!! I am only seven, Ben! Why? Do you have a girlfriend, Ben?" (replies Abby)

"Heck no! What's wrong with you? Um, I dare you to go to the restroom on top of the slide, then play on the playground, then run home." (dares Ben)

"NO! I will get in trouble. No way! Ben - I dare you to kiss Jamie." (replies Abby)

"No!...YOU kiss Jamie. Go lick the white board." (replies Ben)

"No, why don't you??" (asks Abby) "And go kiss Princess NOW Ben."

"I will kick your monkey butt!" (says Ben).

Day #2:

"Abby, go steal one of Mrs. Eklund's slinkies (sp), if you do I will buy you a slushie, I promise." (dares Ben).

"Ben, kiss Jennie, please Ben! I will be your friend, I will buy you a slushie, I promise."

"Abby, why don't you go get one of Mrs. Eklund's whiteboard markers and rub it all over your little mouth? I DARE you!" (says Ben)

"NO WAY! That would be mean. You love Emma. I'm going to tell her. Emma loves you, Ben, go kiss her." (threatens Abby).

"You go lick Emma's lips." (says Ben).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so it goes on and on and on... ;) Very interesting conversations thus far. It looks like I have some talking to do with these two kiddos. I'm surprised at some of their comments and after reading the rest of the classrooms notebooks, these two are by far my most verbal. The rest of the class had comments about their favorite books and colors and animals and movies and etc. Nothing as provocative or outright flirtatious as these two. The rest of their notebook, to date, is filled with this contentious back and forth flirtation. These two clearly "like like" each other. It's pretty funny. Ben actually makes the comment later that he's sick of Abby talking about other people..."we should just talk about each other." Oh man. Love in first grade?? These parents are in for it!!

"Do You Believe in Me?"....a powerful message for all teachers...

2010-04-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

My favorite video....when I need to be reminded of why I teach, when the bureaucracy gets too much...I watch this video. :) Enjoy!!

Ahhh...Spring Break

2010-03-17T22:56:00.001-07:00

I am LOVING this time off. While I adore my little ones, I am excited for this time to recharge and spend time with my husband. We just got back from our 4 day jaunt to LA where we spent time with friends. It was great to get out of Phoenix for a few days and to breathe in some ocean air. The cold Pacific and the sand between my toes was exactly what I was looking for! :) Additionally, we got an amazing and unexpected tour of the Goodyear Blimp (Thanks Bob @ Goodyear!!). I'll post pics soon. I also have a GREAT idea for a science unit about flight! Think paper airplanes, helium, mylar balloons and one very cool inflatable Goodyear Blimp!

Outside of that, I will spend at least tomorrow at school working on my career ladder binder. This project is tedious!! Thankfully, I'll get to spend time with a fellow teacher. We'll crank up the music and sit with our laptops as we type away!! I hope we can get everything completed, because I'm quite honestly sick of working on it....and it's a HUGE stressor right now. Once it's done, I can concentrate on 4th quarter and moving my students even further along than they are right now!

Where is the time going?

2010-03-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

I am in utter amazement at how quickly this year has flown by. Here I stand on the cusp of spring break shaking my head at how little time I have left with my babies!! They came in to my classroom so little, so young, and now they're on the verge of heading off to 2nd grade. I am so proud of their accomplishments. While I have a couple of kiddos who continue to struggle, I am blessed that the majority of my students are thriving and exceeding expectations. I am reminded daily why I love this job.

As I sit and reflect on all the crap happening in Arizona right now regarding education and even the stuff happening within our district, I find myself searching for the spark that keeps me coming back each day. I am exhausted...the 70 extra minutes are exhausting. My brain is fried by the end of each day and I'm trying to recharge throughout the day, but it gets harder and harder as the term and year pass by. Then I think of my very first class of kiddos...they are in 3rd grade now. One student in particular has stolen my heart...he's thoughtful and kind...and he remembers what I taught him about being a good student and friend. He's a huge Duck fan, still :) and he puts a smile on my face very single day. HE recharges me...he reminds me why I love to teach and when I seriously look around me and my school, I see a school filled with kiddos reminding me why I teach. From my current class of wee ones, to the 8th graders who've served time in my room on ISS (in school suspension) and have returned to their classrooms having a different perspective on their place at school...I do have those reminders, I just have to look a little closer some days to find them.

Today I was offsite doing principal interviews for the new principal at Squaw Peak. It's hard to say what will happen, but things will not be the same without Arnie. I was proud to be a part of this process and can only hope that our school site gets the person the SP team feels will be the best fit. We'll know by this coming Friday.

I'm hoping to post more and probably need to write myself a reminder note to do so!

Time is fleeting...IMPACT

2010-01-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we're in 3Q already. My kiddos this past week drove me crazy...it was an every other day sort of thing. One day they were near perfect, the next day I had 22 little eye-bulging, mouth foaming, wiggle-worming, volcano-mouthing, 6 year old monsters in my class. Then they'd be perfect, then nutso again. I can't keep up with that kind of change, I'm too old! lol So, Friday at 4:35pm I did what any nearly driven insane teacher would do, hit Lola's for some adult beverages (aka Sangria - thank you Leslie for my new FAVORITE drink) and good conversation. I may have to make that an every payday sort of thing.

No reallllly funny stories this week, I mean there were little ones, but unless I had an audio recording system in my classroom running all day long, I would NEVER remember all the little, funny things they say. Occasionally, I'm able to write them down throughout the day, but this wasn't one of those weeks. The funniest thing that I remember was said by a boy named "W"...he said, "Ms. Eklund, you're so funny, you make me want to slap my knee (and he slaps his knee)." hahahaha

Other than that, I'm really tired, moreso this year than last year at this same time in the school year. The extra 70 minutes a day our school board implemented is killing teachers spirits, energy as well as the same for our students. My fear is that at the end of this school year, the growth they so desperately wanted these extra 70 minutes to achieve, will not be there. Who knows what they'll do then?? I teach all the core subjects in the morning, because if I had ANY in the late afternoon, my students would fail miserably. They're tired and cranky and restless and want to go home. I was actually asked this week if I wanted to teach extended day (as in an additional 60 minutes on top of the 70)...I laughed in the person's face, literally thinking she was kidding, then quickly apologized when I saw that she wasn't. I explained myself, that I thought she was joking, and we both laughed about it. My answer was "No." But you probably guessed that already. Now we have a three day weekend and I would LOVE three day weekends every weekend. If the extra 70 minutes per day would have meant three day weekends every week, I'd love it. =) My kids would be stoked beyond measure as well...at least we'd have something positive to look forward to and I might actually get a 2 day weekend instead of a one day weekend, knowing that my entire Sunday is spent lesson planning and grading anyway.

So - my goal this weekend is to recharge...to rest, relax and go into next week with a more positive attitude about things. =) I had a pleasant conversation with my HR person this week which helped me realize that I am at least appreciated and valued. I hope all the teachers in our district feel this way...but I doubt it. I think I have it better than most. I have a principal I love (and who goes above and beyond to help insulate my school and teachers from a lot of district "stuff", which she probably gets the flack for doing), a school I adore and three years worth of kiddos I've taught that I absolutely, without question, lovvvve to pieces. When I see their bright, shining faces every day, they are what reaffirms me, what keeps me going, and what fills my heart with joy and love for my job. When they walk by me and give me the sign language sign for "I love you" that I teach all my classes, I know that I made an impact. When they jump out of line, at the risk of getting in trouble, to come give me a hug and share some new nugget of learning with me, I know I made an impact. THEY are the reason and when I remember this...when I remember the TRUE reason I'm a teacher, the rest of this bullsh** fades away and I'm able to teach again with the passion that I started with.

Sounds like I'm already recharging...ahhhhhh

Brain wrinkles and poop...

2009-12-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

"Ms. Eklund...my brain just got a new wrinkle!! I learned something, I LOVE IT when my brain gets wrinkles!!!"

"Ms. Eklund, I was stuck in the bathroom...I mean, I had poopy stuck between my legs. I didn't know what to do, it wouldn't come off at all!! So the nurse came to help me. I think I pooped on the floor too. She said she was glad it wasn't diarrhea!" (said by Princess, as she recounted her bathroom trauma to me.)

December 8th...

2009-12-21T07:05:00.000-08:00

Benchmarks, 9 days left until winter break and rain do NOT make for a nice, calm, settled and sweetly studying class of 23 first graders.

I love rain, but my kids FREAK out over it. I have to remind myself it's the desert here...and that no one is used to the rain...and that 6 year olds, especially, are not used to it. Unlike Oregon where kids FREAK out over sunshine.

hahahaha

December 15th...Ms. Eklund..you're the best teacher, EVERRR!

2009-12-21T07:03:00.001-08:00

I LOVE this time of year. A little holiday music plays in the background, students quietly working on fun projects and the sound of little voices excitedly saying, "Wow! Ms. Eklund, you're like the best teacher EVERRR!!" Little do they know I've mixed LEARNING within all these fun projects! hee hee

From Dec. 17th

2009-12-21T07:01:00.001-08:00

My students think I'm insane...they pretty much told me so as I was looking through a filing cabinet for something I had JUST filed the day before, "I know I put it here, I JUST filed it...where could it be??"

One of my students says, "Um, Ms. Eklund...who are you talking to? Yourself? You know that makes you crazy, right??"

Yes, dear...I KNOW!! =)

I'm going to play catch up...so be ready...

2009-12-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

With facebook now being an excellent way to disseminate information, I often times forget to update my blog, so I'm now going to play catch up and fill you in on a few stories from the end of this past quarter.

Another one of my students move within the past couple of weeks. Her dad is in prison, her older brother a total handful in middle school (always in trouble, "cutting" himself, and etc) and the mom has been really struggling with how to deal with everything. She's been absent at every parent / teacher event, including conferences; basically ignores all notes home in "L's" homework packet and clearly has been unable to cope. So, she made the decision to move her family back to the reservation to grandma's house. It was heartbreaking, because we never even got to say goodbye to "L". She'd been absent SO much that all I got was a note from the front office saying it looked like she wasn't coming back, even THEY hadn't gotten an official withdrawl notice from the mom yet. So, that's that...she's gone. My class was devastated that they didn't get to say goodbye. I am hoping to get an address for her so we can write her letters.

I'm not Jewish...

2009-12-21T06:49:00.000-08:00

"I'm Hanukkahn!!"

So said one of my Jewish students as I asked him a question about Hanukkah. In the month of December, I always teach about the three main celebrations that take place; Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. The students get a kick out of learning about each one and it normally sparks some pretty serious (for 6 year olds) debate about which celebration is the best. With a class normally always full of Christians of some sort, everyone pretty much thinks Christmas ROCKS. However, I remind my students that it's important to take into account everyone's beliefs and not exclude someone just because they might not believe what you believe. So this year, I have a little Jewish boy and he's talked incessantly about Hanukkah and how excited he was for it. But when I asked him about it, he defiantly said, "Ms. Eklund...I'm NOT Jewish, I'm Hanukkan!!" I tried to maintain my composure, but instead went over and gave him a hug and gently told him that he was in fact Jewish and that Hanukkah was what he celebrates during December.

Later I sent his Dad an email telling him about the funny story and asking if he would like to come in and share with the class about Hanukkah. Later that week my student's grandmother came instead and when she arrived told me that the "Hanukkan" story had been added to "S's" memory book.

Oh so cute!!

It's nice to feel appreciated...

2009-11-08T06:20:00.001-08:00

This past week Friday was one of my students' last day. He was a shy little guy who endured a tremendous amount of change while he was here. His Dad is in the Navy and after serving / living in Okinawa, Japan, they were sure he was getting transferred here, to Phoenix, so the family moved ahead of time and have been living with the father's parents. They moved shortly before school started and the little boy started complaining he wasn't feeling well. After several tests, they discovered he had juvenile diabetes. =( So, it's been a constant blood sugar battle since then. He ended up in the hospital before school started and then once it did start, he had to leave to get his blood tested two - three times per day, receive insulin shots and etc...all while at school. Our school nurse is AWESOME, so I'm sure that helped him feel better as well. Needless to say, he and I became very attached. He's painfully shy (he was the one that said "pissed" instead of "missed" in my earlier post), but also made several friends...the entire class was sad he moved. His Dad ended up getting his final transfer papers....to California.

I can't say I've treated him any differently than my other students...I love them all, but he definitely has a soft spot in my heart. On Friday, as I walked him out to his parents we both started to cry. I knelt down and gave him a big hug, he put his hand out in the "I love you" sign language sign and pressed his hand against mine....then his parents started crying. I'm sure going to miss that little guy!

Later on that evening, I came home and checked my facebook account...this is what I found written on my wall from the office manager at my school.

"Yes, he was a little sweetie and great parents. You are such an awesome teacher Lara. Your relationship with the students is outstanding. Those kids know you care for them. The environment you create for them is safe and secure. If my girls were 1st graders, I would love for you to be their teacher. Most Sincerely."

Ahhhh....Wow! It's definitely nice to feel appreciated.

Updates...

2009-11-06T17:05:00.001-08:00

Man, I got sidetracked with posting on Facebook rather than my blog. My apologies to you all! Here are a few gems from the past few weeks. I have some pictures to post as well, of some of their latest projects.

My question to the class..."Where's Steve at?" One student's reply, "I think he's pissing...(the class falls silent) I mean MISSING!! (student buries head in lap completely embarrassed). hahaha! We had a very quick discussion about how sometimes our brains think faster than our mouths and we make verbal mistakes.

"Poop smells...sometimes REALLY bad...did you know that Ms. Eklund?" (said by one of my first graders after he decided that his brown crayon reminded him of poop)

I am laughing myself silly over a brain energizer that ended up with one of my first graders doing an impression of Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean" song. HILARIOUS!!! Dance, hip moves and high pitched squeals included!! I love teaching!

Mrs. Eklund...what's a wedgy?" (that spurned a FUN conversation) ha ha. Try explaining THAT one without laughing out loud. Then in the afternoon my classroom just started to smell well, um, like crap...literal crap. Couldn't figure out what it was, I had everyone check their shoes, and discreetly asked if anyone needed to use the bathroom (no takers) so I sprayed some air freshener, hoping someone had only had a bad case of gas. Then it smelled like crap and air freshener MIXED (lovely smell). So we went to recess for a few minutes, leaving the classroom door wiiiiide open...only to find out when recess was over that one of my students had crapped his pants...literally...poop everywhere on his behind. Shorts, down his legs...everywhere. Poor guy. I sent him to the nurse and he ended up going home. He was back today tho, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to learn! ;-)

Naked...

2009-09-26T11:00:00.001-07:00

Normally these posts have been about this little girl I've affectionately nicknamed "Princess"...however she was pretty mild this week. Only a few funny moments, like when she announced she had to go to the bathroom, "this one (as she points to her bottom) NOT this one (as she points to her front)." The funniest moment, albeit the most disturbing, came when I went to pick up my students from recess. The recess monitor meets me laughing...not just a little, but full on laughing, but trying to regain her composure. She informs me that I had two boys hiding near a storm drain telling the girls that came near them, that they would have to "take off your clothes and get naked if you want to play with us." WTH?? So, after I laughed and shook my head, I had to decide how to handle THIS incident. This is the stuff they DO NOT teach you about how to handle in college. There are no courses on how to deal with behavior issues of this sort. Similar to the story I had last year about the boy who confessed the graphic sex dream to me...there just isn't a course on how to deal with this. So, you basically seek the advice of others and trust your gut, A LOT. Both of the boys who said this are really amazing kids. They are good both academically and behaviorally, with one of them really never having gotten in trouble at ALL this year. I was quite surprised to see it was these two boys. So, rather than make a massive deal out of it, I spoke to them both individually and asked them about the comment. We discussed how comments like that make girls feel and whether or not they knew what something like that really meant? I decided, after speaking with them, that rather than punish them severely in the classroom, that I would leave their punishment up to their parents. I am glad that I did. I spoke to the one parent immediately after school and the father was very surprised, but admitted there were some older kids in his neighborhood that he had overheard saying things like that, so he wasn't altogether surprised that his son picked up on this. Although the kid is a really good kid, his parents are very strict and he was grounded for the entire weekend. =) The other little boy I spoke with as well and he was given similar consequences.

All I can say is that I love teaching and while there are no textbooks on how to handle situations like this, it is very fun (and interesting) to see how far I've come as a teacher...from a 1st year rookie absolutely clueless on what to expect, to a 3rd year veteran who is still amazed at student behavior, but has a better idea of how to handle it. =)

Ahhhh Princess....

2009-09-18T05:51:00.000-07:00

So, I realized that since I do a lot of posting on Facebook, I haven't been updating my blog as much with all the funny stuff that has happened lately. So here's a quick update....most of these stories have to do about one especially interesting/funny little girl in my class who I've nicknamed "Princess", because she is alllll about being a princess!

"Ms. Eklund...there's a baby in my belly!" - We were talking about our family members the other day and students had to draw a picture of everyone in their family, then label each person. Princess says, "This is Mom and Dad and me and Mr. Michael." (Who is Mr. Michael? I ask.) "He's my brother, but also my husband...we're married and we're having a baby. There's a baby in my belly." (she points at her stomach, so I clarify more..."So, he's your brother AND your husband??") "Yes, and we're having a baby...it's in my belly (she's rubbing her belly now and then turns to the whole class and yells...) YOU HAVE TO BE QUIET OR YOU'LL WAKE UP THE BABY IN MY BELLY!!"

At this point, the class is gone and teaching has come to a screeching halt...they are laughing SO hard and pretty much thinking she's a total looney toon. Princess is walking around "shushing" everyone (with her belly distended, rubbing it) telling them that if they don't stop talking, they'll wake up her baby. "Wait...everyone...you're WAKING up MY BABY!! I can feel it moving!! Ms. Eklund, tell them to be quiet, I can feel it waking up!"

I called her Mom after school that day just to make sure that Mr. Michael wasn't a sick/twisted uncle/male family member or something. Turns out Mr. Michael IS her little brother and that sometimes they play "house" and act like they're married.

Oh boy...what a little character she is!!

Princess news and other updates...

2009-09-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

Princess had her "ponies" taken away this past weekend due to her refusal to work last Friday. My immediate reaction was (mouth agape), "Oh NO, not the ponies!!!" (ok, I'm kidding, but I was THINKING it. But, to her parent's credit, it seemed to work...she had a pretty decent week. Today she was singing during morning work and her tablemate looked at her and just rolled his eyes, which in turn made me laugh out loud. When I was asked why I was laughing, I simply responded it was because I love them all soooooo much. ;-) lol

The rest of the week was full of tests and observations. Just today, I administered 5 tests. Unbelievable. I'm afraid the only thing these students will remember is the constant testing.

As for me...totally exhausted tonight. My classroom is FULL of drama with over half my class being girls. I'm pretty sure now that when I get pregnant, I'm going to want a boy. =) So many feelings get hurt each day...poor things. "She looked at me funny. She doesn't want to play with me. She won't stop looking at me. She said she doesn't want to be my friend. She bumped into me...She was touching her eraser....Where is her pencil? She...she...she.." Ahhhhh!!!! Was I ever this sensitive of a little girl? I was too much of a tomboy, I think.

But, here's my favorite quote of the week. We had just started eating our snack, which today was strawberries and blueberries. "Mrs. Eklund...this strawberry is sooooo good; it's like a PARTY in my mouth!"

The Princess...

2009-09-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have the epitome of a princess in my class...she is sweet, adorable and very, very "princessy". She has a high, sweet voice, is dainty and well coordinated and even pretty smart. However, she is also incredibly obstinate and contrary when she decides to be. Today, rather than a princess, I got whatever the OPPOSITE of princess is...a pouty, sour-puss whose favorite word was "NO." She got in trouble for bothering other people at about 9:55am this morning and then decided she would do NOTHING for the rest of the day, except throw tiny hissy fits. When she did bother to respond to me, I either got the death glower or an emphatic "NO". "Z (we'll call her) - I need you to make a better choice." "No." was her reply. "Z, you need to quit bothering your friends, you aren't allowing them to get any work done." (insert top of the eyes death glower here). I was even told, "I hate you."

What a day...So little miss snotty pants spent a good chunk of the day both at her desk with her head down (to which she proceeded to then climb under her desk and bang pencils against it) and with her nose in the corner. At one point, as I passed out math tests, she threw hers back at me and said "NO!". So - once again off to the time out corner she went. Where, miraculously, she informs me, as "Fun Friday" is about to start, she's "ready to start paying attention and listening." To which I replied, "NO!" (JUST KIDDING!!!) My actual reply was something along the lines of "thanks, but no thanks...I appreciate your willingness to make good choices now, however you have not shown me through your actions that you deserve Fun Friday, but you can sit down and complete your math test." Her reply? Anyone? Anyone?? "NO!" and a nasty glower to boot.

Needless to say, we had a parent conference when Mom picked her up. Mom said she would take away her dolls for the weekend. My, how parenting times have changed. I would have had my butt TANNED had I said "NO" to my teacher and thrown hissy fits. Let's see if the dolls thing works come Tuesday =).

All this from the little girl who earlier in the week said, when tasting sugar snap peas, "they're a little bit kinda good..."

Desk licker...

2009-08-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

Remember crayon eater from last week? Yea - well today she crawled under her desk and began licking the bottom of it. Hmmm...I wonder if she has an iron deficiency? Is there some compound in both crayons and desks that she might be lacking? I am thinking this will be a very interesting year. Oh, and in case you're wondering, YES, I took away her desk!!

Seriously...

a desk licker.

great.

Poopy...and other first grade words (???)

2009-08-29T14:59:00.001-07:00

Ahhh...the transition from kinder to first grader takes a while. Not only physically, but mentally and socially as well. It takes MUCH longer than just the summer that separates the school year, as illustrated by the following story.

I have a very young first grader in my class...she is only 5.5 years old and while smart enough to be a first grader, she's not quite at the appropriate social/emotional age yet. On Friday I had two students leave the class to use the restroom, because "it's an emergency." Normally, I only allow one boy and one girl at a time to be in the restroom, but because of the longer school day, the hot weather making students drink more water, and because I generally don't want any accidents to happen, I allowed two girls to go at the same time. After about 15 minutes, I became concerned...they've been gone waaaay too long, so I notified the front office to send someone off to look for them. The office person comes back within a few minutes with news on both girls. They had gone to separate restrooms (no one knows why) and one had indeed had an accident and was embarassed to return to class. The other one was found in the bathroom furthest away from my room with her head against the wall, facing the hand dryer and her hands underneath the dryer. When approached and asked if she was ok, this is what she said. (Insert the tiniest, highest little princess voice you can imagine while you're reading this.) "Yes, I'm ok...it's just so harrrrrd and I get soooooo tired! I just had to go poopy, that's all...just poopy, but it's so hard and it's always so long and I just get so tired. Going poopy makes me tired."

So far, each year I've taught first grade, I've always had one "pooper"...one student who explains, in detail, his or her pooping. One year it was a student who was also in the bathroom for a very long time, when questioned, his reply, "I'm sorry Mrs. Eklund...it was long and it was hard and I just couldn't pinch it off!!" Last year it was a boy who had to go "poopy" ALL THE TIME. This year apparently it's just long, hard and very tiring to go "poopy". Wow.

I'm pretty sure "poopy" isn't a first grade word...We'll spend some time on making sure it's not a second grade word too. ;-)

Just to clear it up...what ARE first grade words? Umm...bathroom, restroom; I would even accept toilet or "loo"....no need to specify poop or pee =)...that's way too much info.

Picture day...and crayons as a dietary supplement...

2009-08-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

Picture a small girl with pigtails, black crayon on the sides of her mouth, down the front of her shirt, pieces of crayon wrapper all over her desk, swearing defiantly "I did NOT eat my black crayon!!!" Really?? Hmmmm.... ;-) Are you sure??

Picture a different girl leaning over, spitting on the carpet...and then stepping in it...on purpose.

Picture another little girl head bobbing as she slips into sleep at the end of a painfully long school day. The additional 70 minutes are absolutely killing my kids.

Picture a boy chewing on his shirt.

Picture a girl throwing sand at a boy on the playground after she threw food in the cafeteria (for the 2nd day in a row).

Picture a boy in a tie, button-up shirt, more concerned with tying his shoes than smiling in his picture. (He eventually gave up and his picture was priceless!)

Picture several toothless grins. ;-)

Picture several beautiful dresses...and necklaces, and tiaras, and earrings.

Picture smiling faces.

Welcome to Mrs. Eklund's first grade class. ;-)

Can you picture it? Not picture perfect...but we'll get there!

Funny stories so far this week...

2009-08-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, my class this year is drastically different than last year. Last year's class was pretty amazing...all around wonderful students who were easily corrected and back on track when they made mistakes. They had loving hearts and open minds. This year, while still having loving hearts and open minds, they are not the easily corrected type. They are obstinant and contrary and talkative beyond all measure. However, they are still adorable and sweet and have some redeeming qualities. Here are a couple of funny stories from this week.

On Monday...."You're pretty" says the girl who just got caught poking another student in the neck with a pencil. "Thanks! You're still in trouble sweet pea." I reply. Like her compliment is going to erase the fact she's in trouble.

Today (Tuesday)...I'm seriously going to tell my 1st graders that if they keep talking all the time, they will actually run out of words to say; I wonder if it will work? Today was an especially difficult day, but made a little better when (after a "serious" talk with the class) one of the girls comes up and says, "Mrs. Eklund...my mom gives me soup when I feel bad...maybe you just need some soup!" Can't fight that logic now, can I?

I can only imagine what tomorrow brings...

Week One in the Books...

2009-08-16T17:43:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe, but week one is already over and what a week it was! I am learning, as I foray into my third year of teaching, that class behaviors are cyclical. My class this year is reminiscent of my first years' class. To say they are "talkative" and "chatty" is an understatement. Thankfully, I seem to have no behaviorally challenged students, aka dangerous behaviors; they are just happy and talkative and once again I am thoroughly convinced that I am being paid back for every time I talked out in class. I am thinking of telling them that they only have a certain number of words they get to use in their lifetime and if they're not careful, they'll use them all up in first grade!!! While I know that's a lie and I'm not fond of lying, it's beginning to look like a viable option. In all seriousness, I am encouraging parents to converse with their students each night at home as a part of their homework. Due to Arizona's English Only Law, "listening and speaking" are parts of our state standards. So...if I can get parents to actually have conversations with their students at home, it will kill two birds with one stone! They will get to talk at home (hopefully lessening their need to talk in class) plus build their conversation skills. I'll keep you updated on its progress. I am absolutely sure that this year will provide me with several funny moments. I look forward to what this year may bring academically and comedically!

My students from last year are doing wonderfully in 2nd grade and I'm thrilled that I get to see them every day. I really had an amazing class of sweet and wonderful students. I've had some sweet and funny moments with them this year already as well. As I walked through the cafeteria giving them hugs, one of the new students in their class says, "Mrs. Eklund...I know that if I was in your class last year, I would love you too!" Awwww...too cute! I truly am blessed to be a teacher and to be able to touch the lives of these amazing young people. =)

"Monkey Madness" is my theme once again and here are some pics of my room. Due to the traditional school format of my school this year, my room layout has had to change to accommodate rows of students versus groups. I actually enjoy this layout more than my layout last year. It moves my students around alot more (hopefully lessening any boredom) and it just looks better too!

Math Focus Wall

My class looking towards the back.

Reading focus wall.

Front of the class.

Writing focus wall.

Texbook area.

Calendar area.

Library.

Listening center and computer station.

Welcome to First Grade 2009-2010

2009-08-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Summer ends officially (for me anyway) today =( but I can not complain, because I've had an amazing summer! Our district convocation is tomorrow afternoon and the rest of the day (and week) is littered with orientations and meetings and teacher prep time. Come Monday morning I'll have a new set of wee ones sitting in rows of desks. Our school is transitioning to a traditional format and I think that everyone is still learning what that means! For now, I am excited to have my room pretty much set up and am feeling good about the year to come. I will post pics of my room layout (as it's completely different than last year) soon. Keep checking back for new updates, because with this new class of kiddos, I'm sure there will be a plethora of funny stories to share!

Time got away from me...

2009-05-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

Wow! I was horrible at updating my blog these past couple of months...yikes! Sorry! The end of the year snuck up on me like a cat ready to pounce on a bird. It's now the end of the year...as in school's out for summer...ALREADY! Our last day was on Wednesday, May 20th. Probably the most exciting thing, outside of the last day of school, was getting proposed to by one of my students. He proposed on Monday, saying he "loves me...reaaaaaalllly loves me". It was pretty adorable. =) When I told him I couldn't marry him, he said, "but I love you....I realllllly, really love you...I'll bring you a ring tomorrow, I promise!" Ahhhh...poor guy! Alas, no Mary Kay Letorneau's here tho...lol. He's on his own on this one.

So - that's it. My second year of teaching is over...I'm very ready for summer and am looking forward to not thinking about teaching for at least 30 days! ha ha I have loved this year...all my students and I will miss them horribly, but am glad it's over.

Look for more updates over the summer as my hubby and I will be road-tripping around the West. Ciao for now!

Introducing....

2009-04-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

Angel-May Nemo-Bob Peter!!!

Our class pet has arrived! You may be wondering how he got such a wonderful name (hee hee) and I owe it all to my funny, cute students. I had them write their "favorite" name on a piece of paper (they were not allowed to write their own name) and then we put them all in a fish bowl and I drew out three...then they decided they wanted five names, so I drew out two more...and there you have it....Angel-May Nemo-Bob Peter (the hyphens were their idea too!) We had to adjust the first drawing of his name, because it was inappropriate (not horribly, but I'm not taking any chances at either having peeved parents or a peeved principal), so we drew another "first" name. The students already love him and can't wait to see him every day. So far he's done swimmingly well in first grade. =) The tank is easy and portable, so at the end of the year whoever wins him, will have an easy time taking him home.

Am I really going to do this again???

2009-04-13T10:14:00.001-07:00

Class fish time...yep - here we go again. However, things will be different this year, because #1) there are only 6-7 weeks left of school - hardly enough time for the fish to die, right?? (who am I kidding?) #2) I am using the fish as a classroom incentive...turn in your homework, get your classwork done and you're entered into a raffle...I will pull a name out of a fish bowl the last week of school and voila - that student is the proud owner of our class fish. (Don't worry - I got parental consent already!)

The reality of the situation is that I'm a sucker. My kids are cute...I'd do anything for them...and they've been SO good they deserve something totally fun to look forward to, besides summer. =) If I do goldfish, maybe I could get two...we'll see. They realllllly want a betta tho. So, stay tuned for the introduction of our class fish...I'm sure he'll make his appearance later this week.

laughter...pure joy

2009-04-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those days that I both love and hate teaching...but mostly love :o) My kids were SOOO happy...no special reason...just because....and they could NOT stop laughing...at everything. So much so that I finally gave up on trying to teach math and took them out and made them run two laps around the field. They were gasping by the time we got done...and it was good. =) We finally got some math done...

Some days you just have to laugh...

(ok, maybe there was a little tickling involved...but they started it!)

13 stitches...and the persistent movie date request

2009-04-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

That was the final count for my little guy from last week. He was back in school today with 13 stitches and a wonderful attitude. What a little trooper!! =) I'm happy to have him back and so is the rest of my class. We made him the CUTEST get well cards on Friday...I hope he keeps them forever. My husband keeps commenting that when he was younger, probably a first grader himself, that he got really sick and his whole class made him cards. He swears his mom still has them tucked away in a box somewhere! It's pretty amazing the love that exudes from these little ones. I'm sure glad he (my student) wasn't hurt worse...I don't know how the rest of the kiddos would have taken it.

"Ms. Eklund? Will you come to my house after school to watch a movie?"

(I'm sorry honey, I can't, I have an appointment tonight.)

"Well, what about tomorrow night?"

(Sorry sweety, I have an appointment tomorrow night too.)

"Then what about Wednesday night...or Thursday night...or Friday night?"

(I'm sorry honey, I just can't come over to your house and watch a movie.)

"Well, I'm going to keep asking, because I know some day you'll say YES!"

(Look honey, here's your Mom!) Phew!

Persistent little feller, isn't he?

By far the worst injury of the year...

2009-04-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

Imagine a 7 year old running in hallway...now imagine someone opening a classroom door...now hear the impact of a head and a door...blood everywhere. Welcome to my world this morning! One of my students (who knows better, by the way, than to RUN in the hallway) was running in the hallway and someone opened a classroom door. He has a pretty decent sized gash above his left eye, about 3/4 to 1" long. His mom came and we directed her to take him to the ER immediately as he was starting to get drowsy already, which is a good indicator of head trauma. So...off they went. I am hoping to get an update later today from his mom. Poor little guy. I did, however, use him as an example for the rest of the class about the perils of running in the hallways.

What a day!

too funny not to share...

2009-04-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I got out my big role of tape so that I could tape a student's nametag down on her desk. As I was getting out the tape and ripping off a piece, one of my students comes up to me, puts his hands behind his back (like he's being arrested) and says, "It was me...I did it...take me to jail." Hilarious! I just looked at him in disbelief trying really hard not to laugh out loud, because the first thought in my mind is about his Dad...was he arrested? Has he seen someone arrested? All of that. So I asked him and he said he watches a lot of tv...and that's what they do on tv. I didn't bother asking how using tape as handcuffs factored in.... =) And let's not even get into what a horrible crook this kid would be (that's a good thing) seeing how he automatically gave himself up! lol

training...and students who miss me...

2009-03-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

So, we've just gotten back from a two week Spring Break and on my second day back I had to go attend two full days of training. By the time I returned this morning, my students were missing me pretty badly...here are some of the things they said. Just total reinforcement as to why I have the BEST job in the world!!!

"Ms. Eklund...I missed you so much, I thought I was going to die."
"Ms. Eklund, can I stay in 1st grade forever? I miss you so much when you're gone!"
"Ms. Eklund, can I live with you so I can see you every day??"
"You are more beautiful today, than I remember."
"Will you come to my house tonight and watch a movie? I missed you so much."
"Ahhh...Ms. Eklund, you're the best teacher EVER! Mr. B (the sub) is funny, but you're better than he is."

Seriously...they may be stinkers sometimes, but man...I love these little ones. =) I'm so proud of how they're doing and how much they've grown. It's weird to think I only have 8 weeks left with them!

Kissing and "killing"...a first grade love story...

2009-03-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

So I had one of my students C. come in this morning and tell me that he wants to “kill” another student, J., in our class. Long story short, he wants to “kill” the boy who pushed him out on the playground. The reason the boy pushed him is because C. was trying to kiss a girl and J. pushed him to make him stop!! =) After a long talk with C. (in front of his Dad) about all the things wrong with the word “kill” (the whole "threat" thing and how it's a very serious word and all that) it looks like now I’ll have to have another chat (as in we've had this conversation twice already this year) with him about NOT KISSING GIRLS! I talked to J. about how you can't push kids and we worked on some other methods of stopping the kissing, should it happen again. But he said he "just really wanted to play with C. and C. wanted to kiss a girl rather than play with me!" (poor thing) So, I just went and found the Kinder girl C. was trying to kiss and had a chat with her about kissing and how she’s not allowed to kiss anyone until she’s 30 years old. I made her repeat it over and over and then asked her again how old? She says, “50!!!”. I told her that would work too =)

I don't ever remember kissing ANYONE in first grade...and not even 2nd grade...but I did get "married" in 2nd grade to Erik Knutsvig...I still have the ring! We would hold hands across the aisle between our desks. But ewww...we never kissed! How times have changed!

Funny first grade drawings...

2009-02-26T18:54:00.000-08:00

Ok - these are too funny not to post. The first ones are drawings the students made after we read an informational story about "Ants". The drawings are of the ants laying eggs. You can draw your own conclusions about what YOU think they're doing =)

This next one is from a science activity I had the students complete. They had to draw four pictures (two "living" things and two "non-living" things), then they had to write "living" or "non-living", and then write a sentence describing their picture. This little girl doesn't have her subject/verb agreement quite down yet. =) Enjoy...hee hee

Being a teacher...

2009-02-26T15:40:00.000-08:00

Definitely has its perks...but it also has its drawbacks, such as having to make sure that every word is spelled correctly, that grammar is used correctly and basically that everything I say, do, or write is absolutely perfect. If not, I have people LIKE MY DAD AND SISTER who find things wrong and correct me. =) So the credit goes to my Dad, Larry, and my sister, Elaine, for catching a spelling error on my profile. "Throws" is now corrected to be "throes"...=)

I'm so glad I came from such a SMART family!!!

Plus, I'm not too proud to admit when I'm wwwrrr...um...wrrrooo...hmmm....wrrroooo...fine, when I'm incorrect. =)

Love you both Lainie and Dad!!

~Lara

Dead rat...

2009-02-23T15:22:00.000-08:00

Ha ha...so last year at this time, I think, we came to school and found a dead rat impaled on someone's door. Never did find out who did it or why...it was just weird. Thankfully, nothing like that has happened this year....YET! =)

Nothing new today...I just had perfect attendance for the first time in about 6 weeks...all the students were here...it was wonderful! =)

Middle Schoolers

2009-02-20T14:34:00.000-08:00

As some of you know I often take in middle school students who need some place to go for ISS (in school suspension). Most of them, actually ALL of the time, until today, I have never had a problem with any of them. These students range from 6 - 8th grade and have normally committed enough small infractions that have led to their three day suspension. Today I had a kid who has a notorious reputation for being a punk. With that said, I always spend time with these kids to try to get to know them, to find out what their internal issues may be, so that I can help to point them in a different direction. This normally starts with a few questions such as, "Who do you admire?", "What do you want to be when you grow up?", "What motivates you?" I also always ask them what they did to get ISS. If a students "doesn't know" what they did for ISS, then they're flat out lying and you know it will be difficult, but if the kid admits what he did they are generally willing to answer the rest of the questions I listed above and they are, generally, remorseful about what they've done. My kid today was not like this. Today was actually his second day in my classroom and I had no problems with him at all until this afternoon.

Our school has a closed campus, which means (among other things) you may not bring certain foods on campus...things like candy, gum, and junk food. We have several students who bring these items on campus and they are confiscated (when found). Today this student was feeding my first graders "hot" Cheetos while we were walking to art class. When questioned, he lied about it and it spiraled downhill from there.

To make a very long and angering story short, as he walked by a trash can he threw something from his pocket into the trash can (I was in front of him, so I couldn't see him do this, but I heard it and there was another teacher behind him who saw him do it.) When I asked him what he threw away, he said, "Nothing." Knowing he was lying, I went back to the trash and picked out his full bag of 'hot' Cheetos...to which he replies TO MY FACE, "trash digger." When I asked him again what he said (because I was in TOTAL disbelief), he gives me this cocky sideways smirk and says, "I said, trash digger."

OH MAN! All I can say is I had to remind myself that I do have teacher's liability insurance...but even with that insurance, I would still go to jail for spanking this kid. ;-)

Clearly the kid has some other issues besides calling me a "trash digger" and unfortunately for him now, he as MUCH bigger issues for the 5 or so infractions he committed during this whole little tirade. He's officially out of my class for OUT of school suspension, which for him could mean retention and/or summer school.

I did take 45 minutes after this incident to try to find out what is going on at home or in his life to figure out why he's this way. He started crying, but wouldn't really open up. Before I had to go things were pretty much calmed down and I asked him what he would do differently if he was given another chance? He said, "Nuthin'". So I asked him if he wanted another chance? His reply? "Nope." So there we are. I tried!!

So - praise God for teachers...but praise God especially for middle school teachers who put up with this on a daily basis, because it just re-affirms the fact that I couldn't do it. I will take my little 6, 7 and 8 year olds and their peed pants, snotty noses, drooling faces, germy hands, (not to mention a plethora of WONDERFUL things too) ANY day. I know that middle-school teachers say the same about elementary age teachers, but seriously...no friggin' way. I'll coach them, I'll mentor them, but it would take ALOT for me to ever be put in a position to have to teach them every single day.

That was MY day! =) and it's Friday...thank God. =)

Cinquain poems...

2009-02-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

We did them today for our district poetry contest...hopefully one of my kiddos will win something. I'll scan a couple tonight and post them, because they were SO cute (especially the pictures). If you're not sure what a cinquain is, it follows this format.

Title

two describing words

three verbs

four feeling words (or a four word 'feeling' phrase)

Title

Here are some that my students wrote today.

Lizard

Orange and yellow

Scare, run, eat

It makes me happy.

Lizard

Grila (Gorilla)

Fury and gray

Climbs, swings, hangs

It makes me excited!

Grila

Lion

Yellow and brown

Jump, eat, chase

It makes me silly.

Lion

Barnacles...

2009-02-20T14:24:00.000-08:00

What kid or person says "barnacles"? Is it off of Spongebob or something that I don't know of? I have a kid in my class (three guesses who, first two don't count) who says this whenever he makes a mistake. It's hilarious! This young man is an interesting kiddo...wooo boy, interesting.

"Hey buddy, you forgot to put an end mark on your sentence."

"Barnacles."

"Oops...don't forget to tuck in your shirt (more often than not, it's "zip your zipper")."

"Barnacles...BARNACLES."

At least he doesn't say, "Dammit! DAMMITT!" Like one of my students last year. Or..."That's f*&@ing ridiculous!" (same student from last year).

Mittens...

2009-02-18T14:48:00.000-08:00

This is a gem from my kindergarten teacher. Kinders here range from 4-6 years old, so keep that in mind...oh - and most of them don't really know what a cow looks like. (have you figured out what "mittens" could be yet?)

The kinder teacher was reading them a story that involved a cow and apparently the cow had a really big udder and teats. As she was reading the story, she showed them a picture of the cow...to which one of her students replies, "Oooo...look Ms. G...that cow has really big mittens!!!" (the young student points to the cow's udder)...

That's my future first grader!

Boogers...

2009-02-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

So when dealing with first graders there are some things you just get used to...things like little noses full of snot, kids who pee their pants, farting noises (real or imaginary), shoes that need tying, lots of hugs and "I love you's", messy handwriting, sweet handmade pictures, and etc. But the one thing that I haven't been able to get used yet is a certain level of disgustingness (my own new word) that comes with some students. Normally, and no stereo-typing involved, boys are the ones that seem to be the little gross ones...picking their noses and eating it, dirt, germs and the whole 9 yards. Well, last Friday I was surprised to have the following incident occur between two girls. We were waiting outside the Phoenix Children's Theater and all the students were leaning up against a window ledge outside. Two of the girls scream "EEEEK!" and point to a really big, green, sticky booger on the ledge. I tell them to take a deep breath and just step away from it...no need to get all freaked out, just don't stand near it. I walk away thinking to myself, "Sweet...no worries." I was horribly wrong. Seconds later I hear one of the girls scream, "MS. EKLUND SHE PUT IT ON ME!!!!!!!!" Ummm..yep...not joking...I walk back over there and sure enough one of the girls had wiped the booger off of the window ledge and onto the other girls' hand.

It was one of those moments where you just stand there and stare at them in utter disbelief, thinking, "Really?? Did she REALLY just wipe a FOREIGN-UNKNOWN booger onto another student??" (As if she would have gotten in less trouble for wiping one of her own boogers on the other girl...but when you don't know where it came from - it's much more gross!) You're kind of left speechless. I stood there thinking all of those things and then promptly reprimanded the booger wiper for #1 touching the booger (which has it's own set of issues...like GERMS) and #2 WIPING IT ON SOMEONE! Ultimately both girls were sent to wash their hands for a FULL 30 seconds with soap and they still got hand sanitizer. Ugh. Boogers. Gross.

"Because I'm peeing right now..."

2009-02-07T14:12:00.000-08:00

Yep...those were the words from last week's trip to the computer lab. One of my little girls was sitting in her chair in the lab, she quietly raises her hand and says, "Ms. Eklund, can I go to the bathroom?" I gently ask if she can wait just one minute, as we're getting ready to leave and will be going to the bathroom on our way back to class. She puts her hand down, and I ask the class to stand up and line up at the door. She looks at me and says, "I can't." I walk over to her and and ask, "Why honey?" She replies, "Because I'm peeing right now and I can't stop." Sure enough, the dark spot on the padded chair grows bigger and bigger. I kneel down next to her and tell her it's ok and that I didn't know her bathroom request was an emergency, and that we all have accidents. She finishes peeing and we quietly head to the nurses office so she can change clothes.

At least it didn't pool in the chair, run down her legs and fill up her shoes like my student last year!!

A Teacher's Immunity...

2009-02-07T13:54:00.001-08:00

There are a few things in life, that I've recently discovered, a teacher does NOT have immunity from...the giggles (if you teach - I can guarantee you've caught the giggles before), referring to anyone (including adults) as "sweety", "friends" (as in, "Friends, remember to walk in the hallway!"), "lovebug" and the like. A teacher is not immune to making statements like, "Use your words!!!", "Make a better choice.", "Yes, you can!", "But if you DID know, what would the answer be?" (used most often after a student's response of "I don't know...") and more of the same. Most recently, however, I've discovered that I have NO immunity to the plethora of childhood diseases that these little minnions carry! Just for fun...let's recap...in the past 6 weeks I've had a horrible cold, strep throat and just recently...the FLU! Now this past one was probably the worst case of the flu I've had in decades. I lost 9 pounds in 2 days, a total of 11 all told...throwing up for 24 hours tends to do that to someone. I had muscles hurt in my mouth, stomach and legs that I didn't know were involved in throwing up. I've memorized the serial numbers on BOTH toilets, and been comforted by the cool feel of the bathroom tile on my face as I lay there in wonder at how one can actually puke back up their own saliva??? All in all, not a fun experience. Needless to say, I'm happy to be on the mend and eating real food again...not chicken broth and bread. I didn't know that your stomach would actualy rebel against food once it was reintroduced...that made for some fun stomach cramps.

So now I'm hoping, praying actually, that I don't get some other childhoold malady...that I can get healthy, stay healthy and get back to some assemblance of normal life. I would like to work out again...I would like to sleep through the night...I would like to be able to concentrate on something other than how crappy I've been feeling for what feels like an eternity! =) Thank goodness I have 23 little smiling faces that love me on matter how bad I'm feeling...or they've "made" me feel (you know...cuz of their GERMS!!) ha ha

I hope to be back to regular blogging soon...I've had some FUNNY things happen, but because they've blocked access to blogspot.com from my work computer, it's been hard to document them all. Valentine's Day is this coming week, as is our field trip to the Phoenix Theater...both should provide for some interesting moments!

Poopy...

2009-01-08T11:56:00.000-08:00

One of my male students (A) was in the bathroom for a really long time (at least 10 minutes), so I sent another student (J) to go check on him. J comes back from the bathroom and says, "Man, Ms. Eklund, it was REALLY stinky in there...but he says he's almost done." So, another couple of minutes goes by and A comes back to class and says, "I was in there for a long time, because I had to go poopy and it wasn't coming out very fast."

As hard as I tried to keep my composure, I couldn't take it and I just put my head down on my desk and laughed. Then J comes back up to me and says, "Mrs. Eklund, he shouldn't have said 'poopy', everyone knows you should just use numbers, you know - like #1 and #2...pee and poop." While he was saying this he put up his fingers, but put up the wrong number of fingers for each one. (he really is smarter than that...)

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday =)

And today's priceless word is....

2009-01-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a wonderful story written by one of my first graders. He's writing about a time when he learned something.

"My story is about cunting. I learn to cunt so wen I gro up I no how to cunt and so I cunt evry day. I can cunt by ones and fivfs. I cant cunt by thres. It makes me feel happy, becuse I like cunting."

(and for those of you who can't read his first grade spelling...here is the translated version)

"My story is about counting. I learn to count so when I grow up I know how to count and so I count every day. I can count by one's and five's. I can't count by three's. It makes me feel happy, because I like counting."

Seriously...fabulously hilarious. =)

Ladybugs...

2009-01-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

"Mrs. Eklund??"
"Yes, sweety?"
"Did you know my boss, James J., eats ladybugs?"
(stifled laughter) "Umm, no honey, I didn't know that. Why does he eat ladybugs?"
"He just likes them...they're crunchy."
(again, stifled laughter) "Oh, well I can see that...but don't they make him sick?"
"Yea - he was up ALL night throwing up, but he's better now."
"That's good...so are you going to eat ladybugs??"
"No...everyone knows you aren't supposed to eat ladybugs."
(everyone except his "boss" apparently....)

Welcome back to me! =) Today was a great first day back, full of hugs, "I love you's", "I reeeeeeaaaallly missed you Mrs. Eklund", "Can you come to my house for a movie??" (not tonight honey) - "Well, are you EVERRRRR going to??", and smiles for miles. My kids were wonderful and eager to learn, which is probably due in part to their extreme lethargy today...they were tired little wee ones this morning...bags under their eyes and everything!! ;-) But, I'm excited for what this term will bring. I'm sure it will be full of more funny stories!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Time off for the holidays...

2008-12-31T13:40:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since my last post, but thankfully it's because I'm on winter break from school!! I have so many things left to accomplish before Monday in order to be ready for our third term...things such as grading the past few weeks worth of tests, entering the grades, writing out report cards, planning for the first couple weeks of the term, organizing new reading groups, creating morning work and homework for the first week, and MORE. So, while I technically have 4 more days of break...I'm afraid I will spend it trying to complete all this work!! And people say that teachers have "so much time off"....yea right!!

I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season. More first grade stories to come on Monday!!

Orgasms...

2008-12-17T14:03:00.000-08:00

The fun never ends....

Today I had a boy in my class put one of his legs up on the back of his chair and begin to hump his chair while making loud, graphic sex noises...full on "big O" noises. Where did he get this idea from? He says his older sisters showed him some "stuff"...

Go ahead everyone...shake your heads in disbelief...I did! =)

Elvis lives....

2008-12-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

Picture this...bright red headed 6 year old...looking over his shoulder at you...wide stance....wagging his right hand and finger saying, "Ms. Eklund...thank you...thank you very much." du du duuuuhhhhh, du du duuuuuuuh....

Watch out everybody!!! There's a new Elvis in town!!

Seriously...what a riot!

Funny from another teacher....(Erin's class)

2008-11-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, so clearly I'm not the ONLY teacher out there that has funny-ass stories to share. Here are a couple from my friend Erin's 1st grade class. She really gets some gems =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is a funny convo I had with one of my students:

In our small group we were talking about initial sounds (it's my group of 1's [lowest students])

Me: "Ok, V, what is the beginning sound of the word CAT?"

V: "Cat, cat, cat"

Me: "Right, the word is 'cat', but can you tell me the beginning sound in 'cat'?"

V: "Cat!"

Me: "The word starts with a "C" (I point to the letter) and the initial sound is /k/. Can you say that?"

V: "CAT, CAT, CAT..."

Me: (frustrated) "Yes, that's the WORD, but what's the sound??"

V: "Meow!"

(Thank you ladies and gentlemen...) hahahahahaha

"She's HOTTTTT!"

2008-11-26T12:26:00.002-08:00

said by one of my students as he opened the book "Sleeping Beauty".

(no joke...I about peed myself laughing)

I am thankful for...

2008-11-26T12:19:00.000-08:00

My wonderfully brilliant little first graders who make me smile (and sometimes cringe) every single day. =) I am thankful for my husband...the true love of my life! I am thankful for my family, immediate and extended. I am thankful for my friends - you keep me sane. I am thankful for my health (which gets better with each mile walked/jogged on the darn treadmill!! ha ha). I am thankful for having a job in these crazy economic times. I am thankful for all of you who read this blog and enjoy sharing these experiences with me. ;-) I am thankful for SOOO much more, but instead I'll share some of the things my students are thankful for....

"God"

"my family"

"school"

"recess"

"friends"

"homework" (wha??? this kid got an "A" - lol)

"learning"

"food"

"my home"

"Mexico"

"Barack Obama"

"Grandpa and Grandma"

"my brother"

"my dogs"

"my cat"

"animals"

"nature"

"Mrs. Eklund" (ahhhh...I didn't even bribe them to say that...they just did!!)

So, once again, I have the sweetest, cutest class IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! My love to all!!!

22 ego boosts every day...

2008-11-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the reasons I love teaching...

"Ms. Eklund...you are sooooo pretty!"
"Mrs. Eklund...I like the way you smell."
"Ms. Eklund...could you come to my house to watch movies?...Saturday? Sunday?? Here's my number...you call me when you can. Ms. Eklund...you're "gorgs" (pretty sure he meant gorgeous..ha ha)
"Ms. Eklund, you're the best teacher EVER!"
"Mrs. Eklund, you make us smart!"
"Mrs. Eklund, thank you for making us learn."
"Mrs. Eklund, will you be my friend forever???"
"Mrs. Eklund, you have the softest arm hair ever!"
"Ms. Eklund, you have pretty lipstick and it makes you look lovely!"
"Ms. Eklund, you give great hugs."
"Ms. Eklund, you are really, really smart."
"Ms. Eklund, will you be my teacher in second grade? (No, sweety.) Then I don't want to go."

and my all time favorite...

"Mrs. Eklund, I sure love you."

"There's a lizard in my pants..."

2008-11-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you...without this one particular student in my class, I think I would have somewhat of a boring class this year. Not that all my students aren't funny and sweet in their own ways, but this one student seems to have the monopoly on funny in my class! Today his table group earned their way to the treasure box and he chose a yellow, stretchy toy lizard as his prize. Not 10 seconds later he comes up to me yelling, "Mrs. Eklund, there's a lizard in my pants...there's a lizard in my pants." So, I turn around and look at him....sure enough...there was a lizard in his pants. He had unzipped his zipper, put the lizard in half way and then zipped up his pants around it. Oh my!! So...yes, he did...he did have a lizard in his pants. :)

I'm so glad it's Friday! ;-)

"He did it! He did it!!!!"

2008-11-07T12:45:00.001-08:00

Those were the words of my students on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 as we discussed who won the election. The one student who realized that he was "just" like Obama, came up to me and said, "It's true, huh Ms. Eklund? I could really be president some day now!!" It was SO neat to see my students excited about the election. Another wonderful thing happened right after I told the students who won...all the students that voted for him during our classroom election started jumping up and down yelling, "We won! We won! I voted for the person that won!!"

I hope they remember someday how excited they were in first grade over our first African American President! =)

Voting and the Presidential Election...a first grade point of view....

2008-11-04T18:01:00.000-08:00

You might think that first graders don't know too much about what's going on this year, but you'd be wrong. This week I've been speaking to my students about the election, giving them unbiased information. (Yes...unbiased...no matter how hard it's been...it's the right thing to do.) I've answered their questions, read biographical information about each candidate and used the big maps; we even held our own classroom vote. It has been a wonderful journey to take with my students. You get a wonderful insight into how their parents are voting through the questions they ask and the statements they make. You even see how these kids can take both sides in and make their own decisions (sort of - ha ha) Here some of the comments so far...

"I'm not voting for Bobama, because he wants to take away our guns."

"I'm not voting for Obama, because he wants to get rid of our military."

"I'm voting for Obama, because he cares about us."

"I'm voting for Obama, because he looks nice."

After clearing up some misconceptions in their comments and answering further questions, inevitably I rec'd this question.

"Who are you voting for Mrs. Eklund?" (You're probably wondering if I answered them...of course I did! These students need to know that it's ok to disagree with someone, and that even if the person you want to win doesn't, it's still your responsiblity to work together for the common good. So, of course...I made it a teaching moment and answered them honestly. I said, "Well kiddos, I believe that Obama is the right choice for our country." I received a couple of "ooohs" and "ahhhs", and one or two "I'm telling my mom." ha ha ha...

Then there was a comment that really struck me and it actually brought tears to my eyes. We were discussing each candidate and how regardless of who wins, that this election would be historical. If McCain wins, it would be historical for two reasons: 1) he'll be the oldest person ever elected president, 2)with Palin as his VP, she'd be the first woman elected to an executive position in our country. For Obama, if he wins, it would be historical because, he'd be the first African-American person ever elected president. When I was describing this to my students, I explained that Obama is African-American, but that he is actually half-white (Caucasian) and half-black (African American), which makes him Mulato. When I said the word "Mulato" one of my students spoke up and said, "Hey...that's what I AM...I'm Mulato. My Mom is black and my Dad is white. So, he's like ME and he could be president!!" He said this with such amazement and wonder...it kind of left me speechless. So I looked at him and asked, "Well buddy, how does that make you feel knowing that someone just like you could be president of the United States?" He replied, "Like I could be President some day...just like that...like I could be President."

So, here you have a little kid, a first grader...who gets it, he really gets it. He's a poor kid from the wrong side of town. His Dad has instilled in him an amazing work ethic, he's truly wonderful and he understands what the US is all about. He understands that anyone who works hard enough can become anything they want. I'm not saying that at this moment, at 7:36pm on Nov. 4th, that we know Barack Obama will be our next president, but we do know that the mere idea of it is inspiring hope in people as young as 6. And if...just if Obama really does become our President, then we really do know that anyone can become anything they dream of in the US.

I love teaching. I love moments like this...I love the hope, the inspiration and the wonder.

So, whatever your political affiliation, just keep in mind how important all of this really is...BOTH sides.

Oh - and if you're curious...my kids voted 13 to 9 for Obama. =)

The crush...another inevitability of first grade...

2008-10-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was sweet for many reasons...one of them being the realization that one of my students has a crush on me. First grade crushes are normal, after all teachers spend more waking hours with their students than their actual parents do! So, it stands to reason that eventually someone is going to go gaga over his/her teacher. Last year it was a little boy who drew me a picture of the two us holding hands and he wrote on it "I love you Ms. Eklund", and he would get really jealous when Eric (my husband) showed up for a visit. This year I knew the crush was there when one of my little students came up and wanted to know if I would "go to the movies with him, at his house." He asked if I could come over and watch the new Indiana Jones movie with him. When I told him that I couldn't, because my mom (mother-in-law is too difficult of a concept to explain to first graders) was coming in to town, he asked if I could come over on Saturday then. Again, I told him no, so he proceeded to ask about Sunday! When I had to tell him that there was just no way I could come over to his house to watch a movie, he went back to his desk and wrote his phone number down on a piece of paper and brought it back to me saying, "Well, Mrs. Eklund, when you CAN come over, would you call me???" A little later he brought back another piece of paper with, "Ms. Eklund...you're 'gorgus'", which I'm hoping means "gorgeous"...ha ha ha Keep in mind, this is the little student who tells me how soft my arm hair is and kisses my arm.

Truth be told, I doubt I broke his heart, as I've heard no mention of the movie today. Ahhhh...first grade crushes.

I'm a nicer teacher this year...and more self-reflections...

2008-10-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Just to keep myself on track emotionally and mentally, I check with myself...you know...just to see how things are doing from time to time. Well, my latest "check-in" had to do with how I feel my teaching has evolved over the past couple of years. Now, I've been told I'm a "natural" at this...that things just seem to "flow" in my classroom. And while I'd like to tell you that it's easy, it really hasn't been. I spend a crapload of time planning each week...probably on average, 10-12 hours of planning...and then even that doesn't feel like enough sometimes. And you might be thinking that I need to find a way to streamline that...and you should know, THAT IT IS STREAMLINED. Last year??? oh man...I probably spent 20 hours a week planning. So, anyway...back to this whole check-in thing. I realized that one of the biggest changes I've made this year is that I actually feel that I'm a "nicer" teacher. How SAD is that? Just to say it implies that last year I was a "mean" teacher...and the sad reality is that I probably was! I was overwhelmed with everything...and I do mean everything. No college class prepares you for what real life teaching is all about. Theory and practice rarely collide...it's more like they're on completely divergent paths altogether, so you're left to sort of figure it all out on your own and hope that what you come up with is good...and some days you just hope that it's "good enough" to get by. Last year was a rough year...it was awesome as well, don't get me wrong, but it was rough. I had kiddos in my class you would be amazed at...swearing, hitting, punching, kicking, screaming, homeless, no English, prostitute/drug dealers for parents, hate crimers, and the like. Not just one or two kids, but ALOT of my class had issues. So, when I think about it, I feel like I was a "meany McSweeny" to them...or I guess I could get by with saying I was really, really tough on them at times. Thank goodness they're resilient little twerps and that they'll forgive you in an instant. BUT...I know that they made me a better teacher for this year.

This year many things have changed. I'm no longer a first year teacher (amen) and I know alot more about teaching than I did last year. I'm calmer in tough situations and have many more "tools" in my proverbial teaching toolbox to help me get through a variety of situations. I also have a tremendous class...an almost disgustingly perfect class...maybe even borderline boring at times class. They are, as a whole, SO good that it's scary. Other specials teachers are choosing my class as they class they want to get observed with for their formal teaching observations. That's pretty wonderful considering last year they kicked students from my class OUT of their classroom half the time. The poor music teacher last year almost cried one day! So...I may think I'm nicer because I have a better-behaved classroom, OR because I'm just a more experienced teacher...probably a little bit of both I guess. I'm hoping that next year I can reflect back and continue to think that I'm getting better at this...that I'm growing and learning. I guess if I ever reach a chance where I don't feel this, it will be time to stop.

Did you know I'm a good teacher? ;-)

2008-10-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I am...the best in fact! Ok, that last statement might be stretching it a bit...I mean, I haven't met ALL the teachers in the world, but according to a school district representative today, apparently I'm pretty darn good. Which is kind of funny, because I say a lot of cuss words in class, you know...like, "Get your f***ing work done...", "Quit talking da**it!" and "Are you really that stupid??" But I guess that's what they want teachers to do now...you know...make kids feel really horrible about themselves and talk to them like their parents do at home.

I'M KIDDING!! I feel like I should probably stop here, before you all think I'm being completely serious...I'm only kidding about the cussing and stupid parts tho, the part about being the best teacher EVER is completely true. (insert extreme smile here)

The reality of the situation is that yes, the district sent a representative to our school today to observe every classroom in preparation of the AZ Dept. of Ed's visit either tomorrow or Friday. AND, the reality of the situation is that yes, I was told I'm a pretty darn excellent teacher dontcha know, a regular Josephine Six-Pack of teachers ( sorry - Sarah Palin somehow took over my blog...I HATE it when that happens). ANYWAY...I'm in a fantastic mood now, because I've spent the past forever (really - it feels that long) getting my room up to state "codes"(having the right state standards posters up, taking down the cute sh** so that I would have room for the state standards posters [I wish I was kidding on that one, but I'm not...we were literally told to take down the cute sh** to make room for these posters...cuz, you know, first graders don't NEED cut sh** to learn, right??], so to know that I can actually leave to go home tonight and not have to stress about anything is a pretty good feeling. It's not even 2PM and I'm heading out the door...which is probably a miracle, because I've NEVER left school this early...EVER.

So...I'm leaving...I'll add funny kid stuff on here tomorrow. For right now, all I have to say is that I was told I have "the softest arm hair ever" by the student who rubs my arm every day, kisses it and tells me he loves me. Ahhh...it's cute, but creepy all the same. Man...excellent teacher AND soft arm hair...I'm freakin' UNTOUCHABLE today. =)

(please tell me you're laughing out loud now...seriously...you have to be at least a little...)

First intersession...and my lesson plan dilemma

2008-10-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

This week I'm off work due to our first two week intersession. It's been wonderful to relax, sleep in, watch TV, read books/magazines, cook, clean, and to finally feel "rested" after a hectic, yet wonderful first 10 weeks of school. In the back of my head tho, I'm carrying this burden of having to figure out this new lesson plan format. It might sound simple, but it's really not. The state of AZ has passed a ridiculous bill into law that requires a minimum of 4 hours of language instruction a day. Again, it may sound easy, but it's not. To get around the fact that what they are doing is segregation, i.e. having native English speakers in one class and non-native speakers in another, (which seemingly goes against their whole "immersion" theory, right??) they've decided NOT to count Math instruction as part of the 4 hours of language instruction. My question is this, do they realize how much vocabulary and language is actually taught in math? A LOT! Considering I teach math for over an hour a day, every day, including math in the required 4 hours would have been MUCH smarter than including social studies/science, which is taught only 30-45 minutes / day, 4 days a week. So...back to this lesson plan format; we now have five major areas of instruction to focus on: reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary and listening/speaking. We have to take the components from those and cross-reference them with the other subjects (i.e. science/social studies), match them with a state standard, add curriculum, materials used and time spent on each one, and write it all down in a lesson plan format. You see, I consider myself a pretty smart girl (at least that's what it says on my college diplomas...literally "She's a very smart girl!" - just kidding...but it does say something about summa cum laude??? - whatever that means?? ;-), but I've spent HOURS trying to figure out the BEST way to get all of this down on paper...in one lesson plan format that will fit a weeks' worth of lessons on only two pieces of paper. I like my current plan format, I don't want to change it...it works for me, but adding all of this new information is killing my head. As of now, I can't wrap my brain around how all of this is going to work...on how I'm going to fit all of this into one document? I simply, in good conscience, cannot bring myself to use one piece of paper per day...to me that's an environmentally monumental waste of paper.

Thus my dilemma continues.

I'm going to take out a "wanted" ad in the newspaper...I was going to write the exact verbage here, but decided against it considering it would probably get me fired if taken seriously =)

A Funny Bath...UPDATED!

2008-09-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

For a writing assignment last week I had the students read a story and then write a couple of sentences about it. The story had to do with a kid taking a bath...short and sweet - he was playing in the mud and then had to take a bath to clean off. BUT...this is what one of my students wrote about the story.

"The bath is funny, because there is a pink duck swimming in the bathtub playing with his balls."

Here's the picture =) Clearly, an adult wrote the words down for the student, but the meaning is ALL first grade. ha ha

Old Man Jenkins

2008-09-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today was a funny day...my kids have been awesome all week...really, truly awesome. They've been loopy too - clearly ready for their two week break, as am I. Today tho one of my kids put me into a fit of the giggles. He was called up to do part of the calendar and he stands up and begins to walk like an old man, imaginary cane and all. As he walked he said, "I'm just Old Man Jenkins...walking up to the calendar...I'm Old Man Jenkins...." He even said it in this raspy, shaky, old-manish voice. I looked at him in utter amazement wondering to myself, "What???" When I asked him about it, he said that he had a "duck pillow at home that he named 'Old Man Jenkins' and that he was thinking of his pillow today." Again, what??? I couldn't help it...I just started laughing..I put my head down on a desk and lost it right in front of the class. It was priceless. He was cool with it...he just finished his part on the calendar and walked back to his desk as Old Man Jenkins, again old-man walk, voice and all.

Just another reason I LOVE first grade.

Go Ducks!

2008-09-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

This past week was spent preparing for parent/teacher conferences coming up this week, and preparing for a quick trip back to Eugene, OR for a Ducks game and to see the many friends that we miss. We are SO blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends. We were humbled by how many of you were able to come out to see us at El Toritos Friday night...thank you SO much for taking the time to visit and eat with us. You have no idea how special that made us feel. We miss you all so very much. To those of you who we didn't get a chance to see, we are very sorry. There were no spare moments in our packed itinerary; we definitely hope to connect with you on our next trip. =)

Our trip was wonderful for many reasons, but one special moment came during our visit with Uncle Kenny. He is my uncle (technically my dad's cousin, but we grew up calling him an uncle) who is suffering from liver and colon cancer. The day we went to visit with him (literally thinking this would be the last time we would see him alive - ugh) he received the news that his cancer has not spread to his bones and that his doctor gave him a life prognosis of 4-5 years!!! It was wonderful news to hear and you could see that he was re-energized! He was able to get up and walk with us from his room to the reception area, aided by a walker, but he was walking!!! I just can't tell you how wonderful it was to know that our visit was not the last time we'd get to see him. I was preparing for the worst and got the best, so yea!!! =)

We got to stay with some really amazing friends this past trip and while I know it was only for a night here and there, we really, truly enjoyed our time with everyone. Again, we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

The football game was a complete and total blast! Even tho the Ducks lost, it was still great to be back in Eugene and Autzen Stadium. There really is no better place to watch a football game. We are definitely hoping to make it back for another game this year.

The view from my seats! Never giving these seats up...EVER! I'll sell plasma or something to keep them =) ha ha ha

The new Duckvision screen! Amazing!

In front of Autzen =)

Pretty trees...

The year of the parent...

2008-09-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

So last year I had student issues. Students with behavior problems, students not listening/following directions, yadda yadda yadda. This year is once again 180 degrees different in the respect that the most serious of issues revolve around the parents in my classroom. So far this year I have had 1. one of my students removed from her house because her father was abusing her (I can't begin the tell you of the horrors that have gone on in her house, some of which I learned about only today. I am thankful beyond words she is removed from that situation. I still have nightmares about her injuries); 2. one of my student's fathers just beat the snot out of the mother this past weekend so now my student and her mom are staying with relatives (it's not a pretty situation - she's getting a restraining order on him and he's been listed as a "dangerous" parent at our school, so he's not allowed on campus, however today apparently he showed up and tried to "find" my classroom...which means he was walking around campus. I'm to call our onsite police officer immediately if he should somehow show up in my classroom or approach me or his daughter on campus at any time); 3. one of my students' parents hit on me (which is NOT flattering considering he's just slimy and weird and has also made lewd comments to another teacher on campus); 4. another student's parent's friend (got that?) wanted to know if he could be a student in MY classroom, and he promised to be a really good boy. EWWWWW! And today probably the saddest news of all...one of my students from last year lost his Dad a couple of weeks ago as he was trying to cross the border back into the US. He was deported about 7 months ago and served 6 months in prison in Mexico and was trying to make it back to the states to see his family (and brand new baby) when he died. I don't know if he was killed by border patrol or if he died of heat exhaustion or etc. He left behind a wife and three kids, one of which he had never seen yet because he was in prison. It's absolutely heartwrenching!!

In comparison, I think I would rather take students with behavior problems than deal with parents who abuse their kids, abuse their wives, hit on me, or die trying to make a better life for themselves. All of which lead to a broken family. For me, I take solace in the fact that when they are in my classroom, they are loved, protected, and respected. =)

Arizona English Only Education Law...

2008-09-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

if you want a good laugh and/or want to be infuriated...research it. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever been subject to and it effects me on a daily basis. Teachers in my district are poised to retire early due to the additional steps we have to take in planning and implementation. It is making a ton more work for teachers, but ultimately won't change how we already teach. Unbelievable.

Officially an Arizonan...

2008-09-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

Yep...had to do it...I went and got my AZ driver's license this morning. Gone are the days of the easiest DL number in HISTORY (can't post it, that would be creepy). So...it's done...I'm an Arizonan now...only in name, not in political affiliation. However, the MAIN reason I got my new license is so that I could register to vote. After all, it is probably the most important election of my lifetime. Also, the updated picture is nice too =) (and it doesn't expire until 2038).

In 1st grade news, nothing much this week. No sex dreams, no leg rubbing, nothing weird, just a really good week of learning. I have one student who knew 45 of the 100 first grade sight words (high frequency words) on August 21st. As of Thursday, she knew 105 MORE...she nows ALL 100 first grade words, plus 50 of the second grade words! I'm SOOOO proud of her. My kiddos are really doing well this year, so far, on their reading skills. Over 1/2 my class knows over 50 HF words, with most of them in the 80's. So, I would say most of my class will know all 100 by Christmas. I have two kiddos well into their 2nd grade words, then it will be onto 3rd grade words and common phrases. It's awesome!!

We have parent/teacher conferences in two weeks and then I'm off for two weeks...I'm so excited and am definitely looking forward to a much needed break.

One More thing...GO DUCKS!

2008-09-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

I am slowly, but surely (once again) turning my classroom into a bunch of future Ducks! I look forward to the Duck/ASU game so that we can sport our green and yellow and antagonize all the adults on campus with chants of "GO DUCKS!" They already know the game is coming up and about my plans to show the football video. If only one of them grows up and goes to the U of O, my job will be done =)

If it acts like a monkey...walks like a monkey...

2008-09-09T15:22:00.001-07:00

...then it must be a monkey? I have a rather creative student in my class who has recently decided he no longer wants to walk on his feet, yet wants to sluff along like a monkey. I'm actually quite impressed, as he's fairly good at it! Both hands on the ground and he runs, literally, like a monkey, bringing his feet all the way up to his hands before moving his hands to take another step. It's strange to see him walk/run this way, as it reminds of some young boy who grew up in the jungle or something...my own little Pheonix version of the Jungle Boy, except my little guy can talk and write (kind of, but he's improving), and interact on a normal level with students. It's just a little bewildering to see him walk around like a monkey. I have to actually remind him he's a "boy" and have him walk upright. However, the minute we get outside to the playground he's a monkey. OR when we go outside for science experiments, he turns into a monkey. Hmmm...I don't think my class is so boring anymore. Between sex dreams and monkeys, nope - NOT boring. I am, however, impressed that he no longer refers to the bathroom as the "potty". It only took him a couple of days to quit asking to go "potty", but instead use a complete sentence and ask "Could I please go to the bathroom?"

I love first grade!

Pondering a classroom pet...

2008-08-31T19:51:00.001-07:00

As most of you may know, last year saw the demise of three, yes three, classroom fish. The first fish loss was by far the worst...he'd been with us the longest, he was the most beloved fish EVER. There was the funeral, the burial, the "dead" song, the mourning period and then the loss of the two replacement fish. So, I had pretty much decided that there was NO WAY I was going through all of this again. Well...6 year olds can be pretty tough negotiators and me being a pushover for batting eyelashes might also have something to do with the fact that I'm even considering getting a class fish. Our classroom theme this year is all about monkeys, but they don't make very good classroom pets ;-). So, I am thinking about getting another fish for my room..but with some changes this year. Such as a covered tank with no chance of foreign matter getting into the tank, i.e. whatever white sheen kept getting on the top of the water last year, and a permanent heater in the form of a light bulb. I am thinking that after our first intersession, I'll spring for the $2.50 fish and get the tank going. My kids are SO good this year, I kind of feel bad not getting them a classroom pet. Besides, feeding it could be an additional classroom "job"...which they would LOVE.

I've also considered other pets...such as a hedgehog (they're CUTE), a chinchilla (even cuter), and hamsters (pretty cute too.) But, they come with a significant increase in financial and time maintenance. Plus, on intersessions, do I really want to bring home an animal for my cat to terrorize? Additionally, something my kiddos can actually touch and pet, will only increase their heartbreak should the animal die. Final thought? I think I'll stick with fish for now :-)

First intersession starts the very end of September...we'll see if I can hold off until then.

The dream confession...

2008-08-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

This one is too funny ... and totally, completely benign in nature. Yesterday, I had a first grader who clearly found some of his parents reading "material" of the "naughty" kind and proceeded to tell me about a "funny" dream he had. It turned out his "funny" dream was of the sexually explicit kind, and I don't mean "first grade" explicit...I mean graphically explicit (tongues down throats, lips on things and licking other things, AND he used hand movements - you can figure the exact details out for yourself). It was all I could do not to bust up laughing in his face, because you could tell it was so innocent...nothing weird going on at home malicious in nature. He just wanted to share his "funny" and "interesting" dream with me. So, imagine receiving a phone call from your 6 year old's first grade teacher explaining to you that your son just revealed to her a sexually explicit dream involving another student in his class. The mother was mortified, to say the least, and admitted that he had found where they kept their "things" about 10 days ago and that he had been having these "funny" dreams since. She was sure I now thought they were "horrible" parents. I simply told her that we were all adults, but that it might be a good idea to change the location of their "stuff"to make it less accessible to him. She groaned and said, "it was only ONE time we did this..." and then her voice trailed off. I was SO glad this was over the phone, because in person it would have been MORE uncomfortable. I seriously couldn't stop laughing once I hung up with her. When his dad came to pick him up after school, he couldn't even look me in the eye, he was so embarassed. He said, "I just don't even know what to say to you right now...I'm just so...so...um" I stopped him right there, just put my hand on his shoulder and said, "How about 'Have a nice afternoon Mrs. Eklund'...he kind of laughed, said it and then walked away. ha ha ha

How was YOUR week? =)

I'm back and haven't forgotten you...

2008-08-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been SO long since my last blog...how utterly irresponsible of me! =) Seriously, I was gone for a couple of weeks traveling back to Montana for a family reunion and then thrust into three days of training upon my return. Needless to say I am glad to be back in my classroom with my wee ones as I missed them terribly.

I am happy to report that the two substitutes that took over my class while I was gone, did surprisingly well. I've heard horror stories about teachers painstakingly planning for an absence only to come back and discover that their substitute did NOTHING in their lesson plans. I was thrilled to come back and find out that every assignment I planned for them to do, was actually executed and my students received rave reviews! I cannot stress to you enough how different my class is this year than last. I will, however, always have a special place in my heart for my very first class. They were wonderful, challenging and very, very special to me. Seeing the few that are still here, makes my day - especially when they shower me with hugs and sign language "I love you's". Now that I've taught my current class the "I love you" sign they are equally as eager to share it.

The past couple of weeks since my return have been wonderful, yet heartbreaking all the same. For the majority of you who know me personally, you know of the heartbreak of which I speak. For those who don't, I can only say that I have been dealing with my first case of alleged child abuse. It is mindboggling to me how someone, anyone, could hurt a child...any child. Dealing with this firsthand has been an eye-opening, heartbreaking and learning-filled experience that I hope I never have to encounter again.

My students were amazing to return to...each one declaring how much they missed and loved me. How many of you can say you get to return to that kind of reception? =) Just one of the many reasons I love teaching.

So you're probably looking for some "funnies" in this blog, so let me share a couple with you. Funny #1: I am teaching extended day school, which is basically an extra hour of reading a day to kids that need that extra push. On Tuesday night we were reviewing the letter sounds and names and we got to the letter "u". You know that the letter "u" makes two sounds, right? It makes the "uh" sound as in "umbrella" and "under" and the "yu" sound as in "unicorn", "you" and etc. Well, this little girl pipes up and says "h"...as in "hunicorn"...I look at her quizzically and had her repeat her word, "Yes, Mrs. Eklund...it's "h" as in "hunicorn." I tried to convince her that it does NOT in fact make that sound, but in no certain terms was she giving it up. So I guess it's called a "hunicorn" from now on. We'll work on that one individually =)

Funny #2: We're sitting doing calendar one day and I look up to see one of my boys playing with the hair of the girl in front of him. I give him the "keep your hands to yourself" look and he stops. A few seconds later...he starts doing it again. So I give him a second, but more stern, "stop it now" look and he does. Again, a few seconds later he starts again, so I finally ask him to stop and he says, "But she WANTS me to...her hair is SO SOFT!" The girl about died of embarassment, turned pink and then looks at me and says, "No I DON'T!" Looks like we have a rascal in the classroom again this year.

Funny #3: Remember the pants-turned-inside-out kiddo from a couple of weeks ago? He has quite the imagination as you can figure out. Today he comes and tells me, in all seriousness, that "everything was ok" and he didn't get "fired from his job." That "James" his boss, "said that he could just finish his work later, but he gave me a warning, a BIG one. I finally hung up on him and told him I didn't want the job anyway." Hmmmm...clearly something is going on at home regarding a job. =)

So - that about wraps it up. I'll have more updates this week and I'll post some pictures of student work. =)

I'm just going to say it...my kids are so well-behaved this year...it's almost boring! ;-) Is that terrible to say or what?? They're disgustingly good. Outside of some in-class talking issues, they're amazing. I kind of don't know what to do sometimes with them. Trust me, I'm thankful after all the stuff that happened last year, but wow! It's kind of unsettling at times. ha ha

Something just occurred to me...

2008-08-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

'member last year when I had the little boy that I caught "playing with himself" during class (yes, THAT kind of playing with himself)? Well, if I have had to predict one of my students from this year who would/will do it? Yep...you got it, my little "Danny"...he's already turned his shorts inside/out...I wonder what's next?

OOOhhh...and I get to see some of my kiddos from last year, probably 15 or more of them, as they are in 2nd grade now at my school. They are SO sweet and SO cute...running up to me giving me hugs. I am amazed at how big they got over summer. It's so fun walking around the school, running into all these kiddos that I know now. Next year will be even crazier! This is part of why I love teaching. =)

"It gives me something to play with..."

2008-08-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

Phew! Another week in the books. This week was great overall. I have done a pretty good job of not "over-talking" this year, which remains a huge goal of mine. Last year I lost my voice at the end of every week and so far, I haven't lost my voice yet. Last week it was scratchy, but this week it seems better thus far. I am learning to just stop talking and use my silent signals more effectively. My kids are pretty good about stopping (most of the time) when I ring a bell and it's been a life-saver for my vocal chords.

I had some funnies this week for sure. I have a little red-headed kid in my class who is just plain out there. He's a wonderful, sweet, charming student who is completely his own person. He has a very tender heart and gives me 100 or more hugs a day. He also kind of dances to the beat of a different drummer. When we get to the playground each day, he runs with his arms flailing above his head, screaming "ahahhhhahahahahaaaaaahhhh"...and he pretty much doesn't stop for about 10 minutes. If you've seen the Friends episode where Pheobe and Rachel are running in Central Park and Pheobe is flailing her arms...it's pretty much just like that, just done by a 6 year old. In addition to his screaming, flailing, running, he decided yesterday to come out of the bathroom with his shorts (not underwear, but outer shorts) turned completed inside-out. They were buttoned up and ready to go...just inside-out. When I asked him why he had his pants on that way, he said that he "liked them better that way...it gave his hands something to play with" (meaning HIS POCKETS...gutter brains). Anyway, it was all I could not to laugh out loud as I told him to return to the bathroom and put his shorts the correct way. Of course ALL of this is after he refused to answer to his name all morning. I would call on him and he'd ignore me...until I finally asked him if he was hearing me, to which he replied, "Yes, but my name isn't Danny...it's Indy...Indiana Jones to be exact." HAHAHAHA! So...I had to call him Indy for a while, oh well.

Last night was our Open House for the year and it went off without a hitch. I had 17 out of 21 parents show up, which is a great number. When "Danny" arrived he was talking on his "cell" phone to his "boss"...this kid has a great imagination. =)

My kids also did some fun work this week on the topic of "alliteration". Here are a couple of pictures of their work. Too cute! Each table group has a name and they had to come up with a first name as well, for this exercise. Then they had to finish the sentence, "_______ _______ likes to ________." For example, "Larry Leopard likes to leap." It was SO cute to see what they came up with. On the first day of school, I had students draw a picture of themselves. For Open House I taped these up on the wall and had parents guess to see if they could figure out which picture was drawn by their student. It was pretty funny! All of their pictures are adorable. Later on I will laminate them and then give them to their parents at parent/teacher conferences.

The next couple of weeks will be interesting as I will be gone for 1.5 weeks starting next Thursday. While I'm looking forward to seeing friends and family, I'm dreading what my substitute will or will NOT decide to teach. =( I will spend the next few days not only packing for Montana, but also trying to get my room and lesson plans ready. Who would have thought taking time off would be so stressful?? My kiddos are really pretty good this year, so I think the sub will have an easy time of it (fingers crossed).

That's all for now. Love to all!

The end of week 1

2008-07-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

So this week went by fast and fairly uneventful behaviorwise...which I'm thrilled about! No funny behavior stories to share.....yet. And, without a class animal (yet - they really, really want a hamster or something - yikes) I don't even have any fun animal stories. However, I do have a class full of sweet first graders who, after being tested on their reading ability, are miles ahead of my class last year at this time. They are so far ahead in fact that I am starting them, on the advice of my reading coach, a full 4 weeks ahead in the curriculum. Yea! I'm hoping (along with her blessing) to be into the 2nd grade curriculum by 4th quarter.

This week we were the recipients of free backpacks and school supplies! We have a Community in Schools representative who coordinated the whole thing and a group of volunteers came in to pass out the backpacks and to make "crazy" paper bag hats with my kids on the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! It was a bit crazy and hectic, but well worth it. The kids were THRILLED and we got to keep all the craft supplies in addition to the extra school supplies they donated. It was great! I even got a brand new electric pencil sharpener! It was almost like Christmas!! ha ha Anyway, included in this blog are some pictures of that day. I had to "smudge" the students' faces out due to legal reasons, but you at least get to see the crazy hats they made and how much fun they had.

Being able to take some time and reflect on this past week, I am amazed at how different a class can be one year to the next. I can see that I'll have some real characters in my classroom, but it is SUCH a different dynamic this year already. I have a real "lover" in my class. He's adorable and is already telling me he "loves" me and he grabs my arm and kisses it. That's going to have to stop, but I'll give him all the hugs he wants instead. My kiddos think I'm "crazy, silly and really funny." All of this after I've had to be hard on them regarding their talking. Having 9 fewer students has definitely made a huge difference as well, although I do get a new student tomorrow, so I'll be upto 21 total if all students show up. (I have had two who didn't show up at all this past week.)

I was pleasantly surprised to be visited by two of my older friends this week. One was my 6th grade class mentee last year...she's great and was in my room for two full quarters helping with reading groups, filing and grading papers. The other student was a 6th grade boy that was originally sent to my room for misbehaving..he was on a three day suspension. But after being in my room, he wanted to come back to volunteer with my kids...and he was allowed to when his behavior was good. He stopped by on Thursday and he was really, really sweet. "Hey Mrs. Eklund...how are you? I just wanted to stop by to say HI and to give you a hug. I hope I can come to your room this year." Ahhh...it was SO perfect. It's just an incredible feeling to know that somehow I made an impact on these older kids as well.

The Honeymoon is OVER! ha ha ha

2008-07-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

Just kidding...it's not really over, but for all you skeptics out there regarding how good my class was this year, well...you're not all wrong either. =) Seriously, my class is pretty good, yesterday was a talking day tho...and I'm quickly remembering what it means to keep my mouth shut and not talk over them. My goal is to NOT lose my voice at the end of each week like I did last year! =) So far so good, I still have a voice and it's Thursday already. I'm not sure if I think they're quiet because I have only 19 still (three haven't shown up, but one has already withdrawn) or if they're so quiet, because they really are just a much quieter class. Only time will tell.

Well, off to breakfast. More later!

What a difference a year makes!

2008-07-22T14:20:00.001-07:00

I know you've all been so patient for an update. Thank you. Also, thanks to all of you who called and left messages for me for my first day! You made me feel SO special!!! Thank you! Thank you!!

From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely mean what a difference a year makes! =) Yesterday was the first day of school and all in all it was a smooth, relatively student-stress free day. I only really freaked out when at 7am parents started showing up at my class! We start school now at 7:30am and at 7am on the nose parents came streaming in my room. I had to gently ask them to give me at least 15 more minutes to get ready for the day. I went out my door, locked it, went to the staff room and had a little tension-breaker squeal! I couldn't help it! This year just came on so fast.

As for my class? It's about 180 degrees different than my class last year. I'm not discounting the differences between the two...it's my second year teaching (so I was a LOT less stressed and a LOT more confident), it was only day ONE, and I had 10 fewer students than last year. But my oh my, what a difference!! I had no major mess-ups...no students forgotten on the playground...no major behavior problems (last year I knew I had about 7 problem students by the end of the first day), no student meltdowns (last year I had three heavy criers). Nothing happened to severely derail our day! It was WONDERFUL!

Right now, on the books, I have 22 students, however I have had three students who have not shown up for school for two consecutive days, so we'll see if they actually do. My class size, even at 22 when all students are here, will be a dream compared to the 28-29 that I had last year at this time. Yesterday I had 18 students. Today I had 19 (one new one showed up before lunch). It's great!! At this point, as I mentioned, no behavior students - at least none that strike me right off the bat like they did last year. I have some talkers...one specifically that is just "out" there. If a hippie were to be in the soul of this young girl, I would not be surprised. =) I have some really bright kiddos and some pretty low ones, but all in all, I have a great feeling about this class. They think I'm "silly", "funny" and "great". At least that's what they said today. Yesterday, as I did my faux British accent, they looked at me funny and I said, "Well, don't I sound like Harry Potter??" One student's reply? "Uh...NO, not really." So...I tucked my tail between my legs and didn't do Harry Potter the rest of the day. ha ha ha It is such a different dynamic this year already. I had one boy today declare that he was the smartest boy in the class...and to be honest, I have no doubt that he is. He's smart, funny, helpful and kind and really, I could apply those adjectives to most of my class.

Today was easier...students were more relaxed, I was more relaxed and we got more accomplished. The first day is normally ALL about procedures and rules and school tours and etc., at least for first grade. So, it was nice to get into the curriculum today and to start to find out where my kiddos are at scholastically. Personally, I already know that some of my kids are a mess. One student will probably be pulled out and then re-enrolled based on the whim of his mother and her drug habit. Another student's parents are divorced and she most likely be shuttled between parents throughout the school year. So many grownup things they have to deal with when they're only 6 and 7 years old. However, thankfully - at least so far, I don't see depth of these problems with all my kids...only a select few.

Today I created the "Vowel Cha Cha"...and it was HILARIOUS! "A-E-I-O-U cha cha cha". When I had the kids stand up to dance around the room you would have thought I asked them to eat worms. The girls were ok, but the boys were having NONE OF IT and I finally had to threaten to dance with them if they didn't move their little legs and at least march in place. And it's hard to threaten someone when you're doubled over in a fit of giggles! We'll see if I have more participants tomorrow.

Other than that, I'm just getting used to (but enjoying) our early start time. M, T, Th. and Fri. we are done at 2pm; on Wednesday's it's 1pm. I'm not sure what I'll do with my extra time!!

On a separate note, it was overwhelming to see some of my first graders from last year who are now second graders. My how they've grown up over the summer!! It was amazing to have them come running up to me and wrap their little arms around me, giving me hugs and kisses on the cheek. They were SO excited to see me, and I was equally the same. They walk around with the confidence only experience can bring, like over summer they realized they are now the big men and women on campus (hardly, but you get my analogy). My biter from last year informed me that she's "friends" now with the girl she kept biting and targeting for physical attacks. (One can only hope!) I guess that's all in the hands of our second grade teacher now tho! ~~ They are so precious and seemingly all grown up. I know I'm going to cry when I watch them leave Squaw Peak and head for high school in 7 years. =)

As for now, I'm going to plan for tomorrow and then hit the gym. Thanks again for all your well wishes! I'll post more soon.

Lots of love!

My Room!

2008-07-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

So, it's Sunday and I'm still working on getting ready for tomorrow...I have planning to do and a million things going through my head. I'm still a bit in denial that school starts and that tomorrow I will have 19 eager 6 year olds relying on me to get them started on their future. I'm a little stunned at the small class size, but I'm not complaining at all! It's a full 10 students less than last year at this point, so...I'm thrilled. Before I get too deep into my "to-do" list, which has grown from 12 items to 21, (don't worry - I've crossed a lot of things off!) I want to get these pictures posted so you can see my adorable, fun, monkey-mischief room.

This is my calendar area and is located on the West side of my room.

This is my reading/library area on the North side of my room.

This is my listening center...I'll post reading assistance and projects up on the bulletin board.
This is my computer station and workbook cubbies. I have enough room for these extra cubbies so I don't have to have stacks of workbooks around my room this year. As you can see, I don't have desks again this year, I have tables, which significantly cuts down on my storage space. So - each student will have an assigned cubbie to put their reading, math and science workbooks in, as well as any other journals and etc that I give them. Above their cubbies is a my "manners" bulletin board...just little reminders on how to be respectful to each other. My hope is that every time they get something out of their cubbie, they'll be reminded of how to be respectful!
My back wall. This is on the East side of my room. I will, in a couple of weeks, remove the "Welcome" sign and put up a word wall for my students to use as a reference. I will also post student work along these back cabinets.

Facing South in my room.

My behavior chart and Math Focus Wall.

This is my only whiteboard. I have a much bigger room this year, but only this whiteboard.

This is my reading focus wall. It says, "Swing into Reading".

And finally, my teacher's desk and DUCK wall behind it. I'm going to get an UO Oregon flag to hang up on the wall as well. My kids will definitely know about the Ducks and maybe, just maybe they'll be inspired enough to go to college. =) Notice the time on the clock...9:13...that's PM on Friday night. I got kicked out at 9:30. =) ha ha

So far that's all! I am working on getting my day planned for tomorrow and will let you know how it goes =)

Love to all!

Oh so close...

2008-07-17T19:20:00.001-07:00

...to being done setting up my room! Tomorrow is Friday and I am hoping to be done with everything, curriculum for next week included. I will take and post some pictures tomorrow so you can see my room. Right now I still have 12 things to do on my "To Do" list...and it keeps growing!! The school is open on Saturday, but I really don't want to come in on my last 'free' weekend of the summer. It's 7:30pm and I'm still here, so I'd better get back to work!

Convocation

2008-07-15T06:49:00.001-07:00

Today is Convocation for our district. This is where all the teachers and administrators for the entire district get together as sort of a "kick off" to our year. Awards are given for exceptional service professionals, administrators and community involvement, and we usually have some sort of high profile, highly motivated guest speaker that will cheerlead us to start the year off right. I'm all for convocation - it brings everyone together and we get to reconnect with teachers we haven't seen all summer and teachers we rarely see because we are at different schools. Last year I was SO nervous! I only knew a handful of people from new teacher training and I was transported back into my childhood thinking and wondering if "anyone would want to be my friend?" (I thought those feelings would dissipate the older I got...it never occured to me that adults have the same insecurities about friendships and etc that adolescents do!)

This year I head to convocation with confidence and pride. I am no longer a first year teacher (Thank God), but am a second year teacher brimming with confidence and an understanding of what lies ahead of me. There are still some unknowns (school restructuring aside), but what a difference a year makes! This year I head to convocation actually having real friendships with people, having a "place at the table" persay, not wondering if people will want to be my friend, but knowing that they already are and that I am on par with these people professionally and personally, at least on some level. It is a strange ride, but exciting all the same. I am confident, but know I also have SO much more to learn. I am thankful, joyfully thankful that I do not have to have a nerve-wracking, mind-boggling first day of teaching ever again. Even with the unknowns this year, I still feel much more prepared than I did last year at this same time. So far I haven't had a sleepless night! That will probably happen on Sunday...the night before the first day of teaching. Oh boy! =) Last year was great, but this year can only get better! So with laptop in hand, I head out the door...it's time to begin another year.

Oops...have to have breakfast first! Man, would my Mom get MAD if she knew I left for school without having breakfast. =)

And so it begins again...

2008-07-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

This past week saw the beginning of the end to my summer vacation. I finally had to accept that summer was over and it was time to start setting up my classroom. I put things off on Monday - going to work out with a friend, going to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls and beat Eric at a game of "P-I-G" on the putting green. However, at the driving range I tweaked my back, which in turn landed me in bed on Tuesday - thus putting me off even more in my classroom. Wednesday arrived to find my back feeling a little better, but with a more intense sense of urgency regarding the 51 boxes of classroom stuff just sitting waiting to be gone through. What was intended to be only three to four hours a day worth of work, ended up being a good 6-8 hours. My classroom now is pretty well set up, less bulletin boards. My new theme this year? "Monkey Mischief".
It should be an easy theme to branch off from, ("Let's Go Bananas for...", "Don't Monkey Around...", "Climb the Vine to Success...", and etc.) but the biggest plus of all? NO LIVE ANIMALS AS CLASSROOM PETS! Which in turn means no funerals to suffer through this year. I don't really think I'd get approval to have a classroom monkey, so I think I'm fairly safe from too many broken hearts. Granted, all the class fish from last year provided some great stories, but it was so hard to watch their little hearts get broken...three times. (Our "peace lily" is still alive!) Anyway - no funerals, no "dead songs" to be sung...only the lively, happy, mischievous monkeys adorning my classroom walls. I'm sure my students will only be too happy to perpetuate this "monkey" theme and morphe into little mischievous monkeys themselves. I expect nothing less. ;-)

I will post some pictures when my room is completed this week. In addition to adding the final touches to my room, I will suffer through hours of staff meetings and obligatory district meetings. If you didn't know my school is going through a severe transition and restructuring. Last year we were a district school, which bussed in students from all over our school district and had about 800 students K-8. This year we will be a "neighborhood" school, which means only students that live within walking distance of the school will attend, with the exception of those students in the "transition" years of 7th and 8th grade. So, our enrollment has dropped from 800 to about 300 K-8. What does this mean? It means that for grades K-6 there is only ONE grade level teacher. I am the only 1st grade teacher at my school! It's nuts, but exciting all the same. Talk about accountability!!

Add to this the probability of me having to go to the doctor for my back and you're talking one crazy week ahead of me!