Back to school, back to school, to prove to dad that I am not a fool.

http://youtu.be/fJSrjW9Wc4A

A new school year has begun and we are off to a great start. Back to school night was on Monday and there was a great turn out. It's always so nice to meet new parents and students. It's also amazing to see parents and students from the last two years, it truly fills my heart to see them. (Teaching is the best job, ever).

So far, we have had 24 students show up. I have 26 registered and I think they will be showing up this coming week. This year, I arranged our room a little differently to change it up. The new arrangement is working out well, I think I really like it. Hopefully it will continue to work! 

This group of students is super sweet. I know it's only been 3 days, but I have noticed that they are kind, respectful and easy-going. I am loving getting to know them all. What a blessing to spend my days with awesome kids! 

This week we worked on procedures, rules and expectations. We put together our binders, our writing folders, and put textbooks into our desks. We also talked about how to check out books from our classroom library, which the kids are super excited about! I'm glad they are so interested in reading, wahoo! 

We have also worked on a few fun projects; a place value robot and name art using "power coloring". Power coloring is a phrase I picked up from checking out Pinterest (gotta love it) and the kids are really into it. 

Here are a few pictures from the first week! 

Priceless third grade quotations

I just had to write some of the awesome things these kids say down somewhere. Sometimes I can't contain my laughter when these things come out of their mouths.

Boy: "But Miss F, why does your hair do that? ...you know, go behind that hair in the front" ( I had literally know idea what my hair looked like or what he was even talking about but then) ...Girl: "That's just what girls hair looks like!"

"I would like to meet Hannah Montana. But I like her because she sings....not because some times she does bad things."

"Miss F, do you know about the twin towers?"

"Yes, I was alive when that happened!"

"You were?!" 

"Who is Michael Jordan?"  (What?!)

Love, love, love my job!

After telling my students we would be pen pals with a class from Oregon, one student raised his hand and asked " but how do they talk in Oregon?" " yeah, do they have accents?" 

We learned about Johnny Appleseed today...

"Miss F, where did the seeds come before there was a tree?" A couple of kids said nature, one kid said God and then one boy said we are not allowed to talk about that at school! 

Johnny wore a pot on his head when he was alive so naturally... "why don't we call him pothead?!"

While reading a sentence for correction about marriage a student said aloud,  "maybe that could be Miss F". I responded with, "we can hope!" And then things got crazy, ..."then you could have a shorter last name",  " we could be friends with your kids!"

"Sometimes this pencil can't concentrate"

"My phone number has 8 or 9 numbers, so it's kind of long distance"

"But Miss F, do they speak another language in Oregon?"

"Miss F, Stone is saying weird stuff. He's saying he has a girlfriend." -Brynlee

"Today, I am retiring my weirdness." -Will

"Miss F, your hair looks like my wrestling coach's". -Andrew

Say what?!

I can't believe that 5 weeks of this year school year has already passed us by! Our weeks have been filled with getting to know each other, testing (ugh) and even a little fun. I am truly blessed by my job everyday. I love what I do and I love to be a positive part of their life's. (I like to think its positive).

A quick recap... 

Back to school night happens the night before school starts. I had all but 4 families show up, pretty awesome. It's great to meet them all. But it's also overwhelming. I have a hard time remembering all the parents. Students and families from last year stopped by, such a joy!

We have implemented a new test this year. It was created by the teachers in the district last near. It has potential, but there are still a lot of quirks to work out. We will work to make it better each time. There is also another new test, to find the reading level for each student. Holy cow, that one was a doozy! It could take 30-40 minutes per student. There just isn't enough time in the day!

I was able to get some fun when I went hiking in dinosaur national monument with Ashley. We hiked the sound of silence trail and checked out Josie's cabin. She lived obey herself in the canyons in east Utah. Pretty cool stuff! Last weekend, I drove to Salt Lake for a weekend of fun with my Oregon State girls! We ate good food (including awesome cupcakes), shared good stories and had a great time watching the Beavers beat Utah! Go Beavs!!

That following week I had three trainings; Monday night and all day Tuesday and Wednesday. I am thankful for the relaxing Saturday morning in bed. It was a crazy week! 

I leave with this final though...what if we looked forward to each day, each moment and all the potential it holds instead of focusing on future what is it come? Enjoy your life, each moment, each I experience, no matter how small or quiet it may be. 

Love and blessings,

Audrey

Sweet sumertime

I must admit I do love this long break from school. It is so nice to spend time with friends and family and just relax! However, I am constantly finding myself thinking about next year; what I keep, what I will change, what the new students will be like, what the new teachers will be like, seeing my old students. Man, do I think about them a lot! I am so looking forward to seeing them and their families in August.

A month has passed since school has been out and I've realized there are a few important things I have learned in the last year that I should be sure to write down, so here we go!

1. Keep a flashlight in the room! One day there might be a turkey vulture who accidentally flies into a power line causing a power outage in the whole town. (small town problems)
2. If a student randomly brings you a grocery bag filled with delicious treats such as marshmallows, peanuts, skittles, DO NOT decide to one day dive into that bag of skittles. That student will two weeks later come back to you and ask to have his bag of random goodies (because his mom needs it) back, to take it home. (had to replace that bag of skittles)
3. On a similar note, keep snacks somewhere in your room. There is always a time when you'll want to eat. I especially enjoy chocolate and fruit snacks.

4. Sometimes you have to leave early. Just go. Get out. Nobody will really notice.

5. Sometimes you have to stay late. It happens. And you know what, it won't be so bad. You will feel accomplished.

I think I'm still working on this list, but it is so far!

There are so many joys that come from a career in education. Admittedly my career is just beginning and there is much more to look forward to in the coming years and I can't wait!
Today my students took one of their final state tests for the year. I really encourage my students to beat their OWN score and show how much they have learned. I know that education isn't about the test, but there is always a sense of pressure during this time. I am incredibly proud of the people my students are and I know that my love and care for them for always be with them.
This morning we went down to the computer lab for our testing. They had previously spent about 40 minutes working on this test of 60 questions earlier in the week, today they would be finishing it. Each student knew what their individual goal for this test was before they began their test and I thoroughly discussed with them to take their time. While they took their tests I walked around, checking to see how they were doing. It's difficult to watch them and not be able to help, but it also very rewarding to see them use the skills they have learned!
As students began to finish I felt nervous to see their scores. But as I went to teach I felt extremely happy and proud of them and for them. Even if their score isn't "at benchmark" almost every student in my class had an increase in their score. I loved to see how excited they were withi themselves! Their scores show up on the screen and typically I just look at the score, but one boy said "don't look, I want to tell you". His score is 24 points above benchmark! Then as another student finished, his had shot up and he said "yes!"
I was in tears as I watched my students be proud of their successes and progress. What a joy it is for me to be a part of it!

Friday!!

Friday is here! I must say that this week has seemed long. We have accomplished a lot this week.
We started learning about measurement: length, width, capacity, etc. Some of this is review which has made for an easy math week. It's also has been since for the kids because they feel like they already know it.
We have also been working on writing space stories and illustrations. Their stories, either fiction or nonfiction were based on something from space. Then their illustrations match their story or report. Then we put it all together and sent it in to a company to be officially published and bound. The kids are really excited! When we get the books back we will have an author's tea where each student will read their story out loud. They are definitely looking forward to that!
We also received our pen pal letters this week and started writing back today. I'm originally from Oregon so our pen pal class is a friend of mine from there. Each time that envelope shows up my kids are so happy, it's wonderful!
Cheers to Friday and another week of the best job with the best kids!

Dr. Seuss day!

Today we celebrated Read Across America and Dr. Seuss's birthday. The kids had a blast! We wore our pajamas and they loved it. They were so cute and so excited. "This is the best day ever!"
We did take a spelling test but of course we used Dr. Seuss paper and then changed desks, which we do every month. Then we played some games in groups. Next the students read with partners and had a special snack, goldfish crackers! After lunch we came back and had a special treat of strawberries and cool whip; layered of course to look like the cat's hat. We had this while watching the cat in the hat.
Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive, who is youer than you. - Dr. Seuss