Grateful for the generosity of our school community and for the determination of our 2nd graders to make a difference this Thanksgiving by sponsoring a food drive for the local foodbank. After listening to Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen, the students felt compelled to help. Mindfulness of others is our focus this year and I am so grateful for a community that stepped up to the challenge.
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teaching
November 19, 2017
30 Days of Gratitude: November 13th
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May 10, 2017
A Day of Extreme Emotions
Today at school, well before 9:10, I had delt with at least two eight year old meltdowns. I am convinced that children experience loss on a level we cannot fathom. They are resilient, in the long run, but they truly have not experienced enough life to deal with death. They cannot understand why someone they love needs to be taken from them and the best I can do, as their teacher, is to listen and validate their feelings. Loss isn’t easier when you are a child. That’s a tough lesson.
Prior to 10am there were two children that made the mistake of dipping their fingers in red paint and then showing how they would cause bodily harm to themselves, a habit frowned upon in public school. A situation that caused one to cry incessantly about not wanting his mom to be called and the other explaining how it “would go down” as someone more experienced with visits to the principals office.
Before 11am a child facing the death of a grandparent, unexpected and sudden, cried that he tried to understand, he did know how lucky he was, but he was just sad. “Is that okay?"
By 12 noon, I was sad. I was exhausted and I felt inadequate. To my students who made a bad choice I tried to convince them that they are not bad. That a mistake in 2nd grade will help them not make the same mistake again. To the children experiencing real loss for the first time, a pet, a grandparent, a friend moving “very far away”. You will not forget and the hurt will not feel as bad, in time.
But then my day, which had exhausted me, greeted me with a lift that could not be diminished. At the quilt shop I own, I was given the opportunity to welcome a self contained class of middle schoolers that felt compelled, because of recent studies, to make a difference in someone’s life. They read about Ryan’s Cases for Smiles and decided as a group that they wanted to make pillowcases for children with cancer. Kim, one of my employees, made the arrangements and welcomed the students into the shop today at 10. Betsy came in on her day off and Donna, one of our customers, volunteered to help as well. Seven children, five adults, 7 machines and 2.5 hours yielded 7 pillowcases. The students arrived with one pillowcase each that they had hand sewn and each student successfully completed the sewing of another pillowcase with a machine; none of which had ever operated. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement. I cried as I bragged about my employees, our customers and those wonderful children with their teachers.
By four I was on my to school speaking to my bestest. The afternoon update I call it when she is too ill to answer the phone. Today I comforted a dear friend who found out today that her doctors did not reveal all of the information about her cancer and her health. Sometimes, as adults, we need to deal with situations that are terminal and just not fair. My morning prepared me for my late afternoon. This has been a day of extreme emotions. I am learning that sometimes I too, just need a hug.
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June 07, 2016
Tuesday in Second Grade, Final Report Card Edition
Pleased to report that report cards are completed. I will review them once before submission but I am feeling quite accomplished this evening. The end of the school year is fast approaching and I must say, I’m not quite ready. Every year I try very hard to purge the unnecessary and organize what I know I need. Unfortunately, I was good at purging until this evening. When the thunderstorms arrived I was all set to pack up for the night. I did vote. I did take care of a few end of year gifts, but for the most part, I was struggling to accomplish anything.
Now that report cards are complete, I feel like I can slow down just a bit. Tomorrow is field day and that takes us one step closer. Truth be told, there are really only 4 full days of school left. The students will have three half days after that and will finish on the 16th. The teachers will have a half day on the 16th but will then head back for a full day on the 17th. While I am ready to be done with this school year, I know that this is one class that I will really miss. They are a wonderful group of children, kind and caring. I will miss my daily hugs and their silly little jokes. I am looking forward to spending time in the shop and only working one job for a bit. Just 7 days.
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June 06, 2016
It’s June
In my world it means just one thing, stress. You see, I am not very good at keeping an organized classroom. I am a pile-er. Is that even a word? I tend to put things in piles. I have lots of piles and unfortunately, I often forget which pile I place things in. That means, in June, I spend a great deal of time trying to figure out where I have placed those things that I don’t need until June. Oy!
So, this year, in addition to trying to finish report cards and the students’ portfolios, I am also trying to get the quilt shop ready for the Row x Row Experience. If you are a shop hopper you know what I’m talking about. If you are not a shop hopper, the Row x Row is a nationwide quilt shop hop. I have been thinking about this since last October. It is an opportunity to get our shop’s name out there in a real and tangible way. Quilter’s travel from all over to visit shops that have a phrase or a row that they like. Today our license plates arrived...
but our row, that’s not done. It needs to get done, so do report cards and portfolios. Oh well, I had better get back to school work. Soon school will be over and I will have managed to get everything done, on time. Soon it will be summer and my only obligation will be the shop. I must say, I am really looking forward to that!
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December 26, 2015
December Daily: Day 22
Truly embarrassing the state of my desk and classroom on Tuesday when I left for the day. I have been completely unengaged with school for about a week now and it truly shows in the way I leave my desk and reading table at the end of each day. So, the story of today, school should have been over last Friday to accomodate my lack of engagement. Not that that alone would have helped. Seriously, I never got my act together after conferences this year. My lack of concern and lack of stress is surprising, but since it doesn’t seem to afect my ability to teach or to find things, I am not going to worry. Let’s face it; it will all be in the same spot on January 4th. Oh joy!
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November 25, 2015
Tuesday In Second Grade, STEM Style
Second Graders love to create. They are the perfect age to inspire with STEM projects. On Monday we decided to give the entire 2nd grade an engineering challenge; to support our unit, What do scientists do?
They were to create a free-standing structure using just spaghetti, tape, string and marshmallows. Each group took on the challenge in a different way and all groups were successful. It was interesting to see the range of structures created.
There were pyramids, rectangles and “alien” structures. As well as towers, clusters and a “scarecrow."
From my perspective, the best part of projects like these is the opportunity we have to be able to listen in on the conversations, their negotiations and their pride when in fact they feel like they have been successful. It is unfortunate that we do not have sufficient time to dedicate to this type of project on a weekly basis. Our students would really benefit from that type of problem-solving activity. For now we will plan these types of investigations whenever possible.
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October 27, 2015
Reflection
Perhaps it’s because it gets dark so early, or maybe it’s because it is getting close to the holidays. But I always find myself to be more reflective at this time of year. I seriously try to practice gratitude throughout the year but each evening as I sit and ponder school work or my IB work I am continually grateful for the opportunity to work with amazing teachers in all areas of my life. I am truly blessed.
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October 08, 2015
Monday was Cold
Actually, it was freezing in school. I think I mentioned that before. Well, as a result of being cold all day and hanging around germs, I developed bronchitis.
I didn’t realize it at first. I thought I had a head cold on Monday evening. But Tuesday, I didn’t feel great so I stayed home. Wednesday I went to school with the best of intentions but after 2 hours, the nurse sent me home. The truth is, if I am sick, I don’t want to be at school. I do not want to share germs. I just had no idea.
So today is Thursday. After 2 doses of the z-pac I am feel so much better - I didn’t realize how bad I felt. Bunkey delivered a little cake to help with my recovery. She left it at my front door since I am still contagious. What a friend!
Sweet treats to brighten my day! I changed the sheets on the bed so that they are clean and germ free. And now I am going to take another nap. I will make it to school tomorrow!
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October 01, 2015
Not So Bad
Tomorrow we will be 19 days into school and each night, for the most part, my desk looks like this. I am very impressed with myself! My desk has been the brunt of jokes in school for many years and I feel like I am slowly turning the corner.
The real surprise is that my reading table is also actually pretty clean. I can meet with students and there is room for their books to actually sit on the table and not on a stack of papers. This is real progress people!
Tonight was back to school night. Finally left school close to 8:30 after arriving there at 8am this morning. But even though it was a very long day, it wasn’t so bad! It was made better by the arrival of two quilting magazines. Now I am heading up to bed for some serious magazine reading!
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July 15, 2015
What to Do on a Rainy Day
You give the kids sheets and let them make tents.
This week at camp our them was outdoor adventures. What better outdoor adventure is there than camping? The students talked about what type of camping adventures they would like and then they set about making a tent. It involved cooperation, negotiation, listening skills and creativity. I think they did a great job and I know they had a blast! I call it a win win!
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