Wake Up!

You know your body is in a routine when you wake up at 5:30 am even on your days off.

Darn you early school days!

Recess Entertainment

This is what happens when you let your kids bring toys to recess...

He brought his marshmallow gun.
My one stipulation was that he had to let me eat some of the marshmallows!

Christmas Time as a Teacher

Christmas is a great time to be a teacher! Not only do I have the next two weeks off, but I got all kinds of gifts!

I remember kids taking presents to my teachers in elementary school but I don't remember them getting as many presents as I did. Here is what I got:

• TONS of Bath and Body Works stuff
• a jewelry set
• two bracelets
• a notepad set
• two candles
• fuzzy socks
• a $20 gift card
• lots and lots of yummy treats
• 3 ornaments
• chocolate
• a cool Clemson tile

And I only have 12 kids...

One thing I definitely learned this season-don't plan anything academic on the day before Christmas break. I had already planned for the afternoon to be a Christmas party but was going to do a couple of lessons that morning. That didn't happen. I quickly realized that anything I tried to teach my kids would go in one ear and out the other. Next year I will plan for a day long party!

Don’t Take It For Granted

For all of you Clemson students taking First Aid and CPR right now, pay attention. Don’t goof off in that class and don’t only study so you can pass. You WILL need the knowledge you gain in that class.

On Tuesday, we finished Spelling and started reviewing for Language Arts. I’m asking questions and walking around the room to keep students on their toes when I look over at one of my boys.

His mouth is open,

his face is red,

and he starts waving his hands back and forth.

He’s choking.

It wasn’t the kind of choking where you are coughing and your eyes are watering. It was the kind of choking where you can’t breathe at all.

I run over to him, get him on his feet, bend him over, and beat on his back. Nothing is coming up so I get behind him and do the Heimlich. After about three squeezes he coughs up a piece of candy and can finally breathe again.

Needless to say, my boy was scared out of his mind. His throat was hurting him pretty bad and he was sweating a lot. I let him calm down for the rest of Language Arts and had him try to eat his lunch. He couldn’t so I called his parents and had them come get him.

In the moment, I wasn’t scared and knew exactly what to do. Afterwards, however, my adrenaline was gone and I started thinking about it. What if I hadn’t been able to get it out? What if I hadn’t known what to do? Where would my student be now? That’s when I got scared.

My student is fine now thanks to all that I learned in my class at Clemson.

PAY ATTENTION in your first aid classes. You may have to do the same thing I did one day.

Favorite Quote of the Day

As he is looking at his book: "Hey! The library's phone number is on here ! I should call them and have a good conversation about the book I'm reading."

November Student of the Month

Craig is our November Student of the Month!

I chose Craig because he is a very respectful student.

He always turns his work in on time and tries his hardest on everything we do in class. He is kind and compassionate to the other students in the class. Craig is always willing to help me with anything I ask him to do (which definitely comes in handy). From taking the trash out, to tearing papers out of booklets, to taking notes to other teachers, he is always there to help.

Craig is also a very funny kid and loves to tell jokes. This is my favorite one that he’s told me:

“What do you call pasta when it’s somewhere it isn’t supposed to be? An IM-PASTA!”

Last but not least, Craig obviously loves God. On several occasions I have heard him telling other students in the class that what they are doing isn’t Christ-like. He eagerly listens during Bible time and participates in our discussions about what we can learn from the stories we read. I love listening to Craig answer questions about how we can help others because he always brings the Lord into the conversation!

The Many Roles of a Teacher

It amazes me how many different hats I have to wear every day.

I'm a teacher (of course). I work to make sure my kids know everything they need to be able to succeed in the future. I teach them Bible, Math, Spelling, Language Arts, Science, Reading, and History. (Not to mention sharing, caring, respect, obedience, kindness, and the list goes on....and on....and on...)

I'm a nurse. At least once a week I have to break out the First Aid kit because someone has fallen and scraped their knee, hand, arm, leg, face-pretty much anything that was exposed when they fell. I deal with head aches, stomach aches, asthma, hurt elbows, hurt fingers, etc. etc. etc. It amazes me how many band-aids I go through!

I'm a referee. Sometimes I'm a referee in the sports sense because my kids love to play football and tag. This is the type of refereeing I prefer. Other times I'm a referee between students who are arguing I have to make fair judgements and make the final call on what actions should take place to keep the peace. I may not actually wear black and white stripes but sometimes I feel like I should!

I'm an entertainer. I know that not every part of school is exciting and enthralling. However, I try to make it as interesting as possible. That means I have to go above and beyond to keep my students' attention. For reading and history in particular I assign students parts so they can act out what we're learning. They love getting to be involved in the lesson! I also try to read with as much enthusiasm as possible so my students will be excited about what we're studying.   

I'm the bad guy. As much as I don't like it, sometimes I have to be mean. I have to punish students for making bad choices with the hope that it will encourage them to become more responsible. Part of my job is making sure my students feel safe in my classroom. When one student disrespects another, I have to discourage that behavior in some way. In most cases it is with actions that my students don't enjoy.  

I'm the good guy. I would much rather be this person than the bad guy! I love getting to reward students for their grades, actions, and words. I like to compliment them on the good things I see them do and give them tickets which they can trade in for prizes. I like to smile and laugh with them. It makes my job more fun! One of my favorite things to do is make little gifts for them. They are so happy to get a cookie or treat bag!

Needless to say, this doesn't even come close to covering every role a teacher has to play in the classroom. We are stretched to the limit but it is worth it to see a student get excited about learning something new! 

Shew!

Apparently we have a little friend near my classroom.

It's black
and white
and hairy
and resembles a cat...
and it stunk my classroom up!

I walked into my room this morning and was hit in the face with the smell of a skunk.
Every kid who walked in grimaced.

After a while though you got used to it.

When school was out, the kids who stay with me decided to go on a skunk hunt.

It was hilarious!

They got a flash light and shone it under my portable and ran around screaming that they saw a tail!
I told them if they got sprayed they couldn't come back in my room. That scared them off so they settled on playing Angry Birds instead.

It's never boring in my class. That's for sure!

I've Got the Power!

We had an AWESOME presentation yesterday by Duke Power on how to conserve energy and water.

Duke Power has hired actors from The National Children's Theater to perform a show about the importance of saving energy and water whenever possible.
        The actors were incredible!
            They were loud.
            They were enthusiastic.
            They were animated.
            They were enthralling.
            They even changed characters tons of times!

My students (who are very much busy bodies) were captivated the whole 45 minutes of it.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep my kids interested for 45 minutes? VERY!
Even the K4 and K5 kids sat and watched the whole program.



 Our students learned how energy efficient light bulbs work, what natural, renewable, and non-renewable resources are, and ways to reduce how much water they use.

This is an incredible program that I would highly recommend to every school out there!

Duke Power is also giving away $1,000 to the school that has the most people sign up for their free Energy Saving Kit and $5,000 to one of the people who signs up for the kit. Who doesn't want free money?!

If you're interested, go to myenergykit.org and sign up! Make sure you put Abundant Life Christian School as your school so we can be enetered into the drawing.
             

An Apple for the Teacher

Alex brought me an apple.

I didn't know kids actually did this!

It's Up to Me to be Drug Free!

Last week, hundreds of school across the country celebrated Red Ribbon Week. Abundant Life Christian School was one of them!  Red Ribbon Week is a week dedicated to making students aware of the importance of staying drug free. It was created in memory of Enrique Camarena.

Camarena was an undercover agent in Mexico who worked fervently to eliminate the use of drugs. He was an agent for four years and helped capture many major drug traffickers. In 1985, Camarena was kidnapped, tortured, and killed by the people he worked so hard to catch. His friends and family began wearing red pieces of string in memory of him. They wanted to promote the cause he gave his life for. The red string caught on and eventually became adopted nationally as the symbol for Red Ribbon Week.

During Red Ribbon Week, we had crazy dress up days, saw a drug dog and the police who works with him, learned how drugs and alcohol can affect a person’s body, and figured up how much money it would cost to smoke a pack of cigarettes every day for 10 years. It was great to see how interested my students were in learning about why drugs and alcohol are bad for you. They would have discussed the topic all day if I would have let them!

At the end of the week, we had a special time where students could choose to sign a pledge to remain drug free. All of mine signed it! They received a certificate for participating in the events of the week and every child cheered for the others as they signed the pledge and were presented their certificates. It was a wonderful week and will hopefully stay with the students if they are ever confronted with a situation where they have to choose to stay drug free or not.  

October Student of the Month

This is Ashlee.

 

She is my October Student of the Month!

 

Ashlee is one of the most caring, loving girls I have ever met.

It is really encouraging to see how she treats the other students in our class.

•  I have never heard her say anything bad about another student.
•  She always helps people when they are struggling to learn something.
•  She wants to include everyone during recess or at lunch.
•  I see Ashlee treat the other students the way she wants to be treated.

 Something that I love about Ashlee is that she brings Jesus into everything she does.

• She always writes about Him on her assignments.
• She enjoys Bible and learning about what God has done for other people.
• Ashlee makes decisions that glorify God every day.

 Ashlee also makes great grades.

• She has big plans for her future and works very hard to learn all that she can to make those plans happen.

 Ashlee is an amazing girl in many ways.

That's why she's my Student of the Month!

Tatoo

This is Zack. He has something on his face. This is how our conversation went:

Me: Zack, come here. What do you have on your face?



Zack: I don't know. I didn't know there was anything on it.

Me: Have you used markers today?

Zack: No. You haven't let us use any.

Me: I know! That's why I'm confused.

Zack: I'm confused too!  I don't know what it is!

Me: Zack! Did you eat a Fruit Roll Up?

Zack: Yes....OH! It's the tatoo!!

Me: How did it get on your face?

Zack: I don't know! Take a picture I want to see it!

And that's how this picture came about :0)

Favorite Quote #2

"CHEESEBURGER"

In my class on Thursday, this word was read as "cheesie booger."

I know you're not supposed to laugh but I just couldn't help it!

Fix All

I have never used so many Band-Aids in my life.

If one of my kids doesn't feel well, all I have to do is give them a Band-Aid and they feel better.
It doesn't matter if they are bleeding.
It doesn't matter if I put medicine on them.
As long as they get a Band-Aid, life is great!

For example, one of my students smashed his finger under his book the other day. He came to me and asked for a Band-Aid. His finger was a little red but there was certainly no blood and didn't need any Neosporin. I gave him one and he didn't say anything about it for the rest of the day.

Another time, one of my students fell on the playground and scraped his hands. The scrapes weren't deep enough to need a Band-Aid but I am sure they stung. I put some Neosporin on them and a couple of Band-Aids and he was all better!

Band-Aids fix everything.

The Wonders of the Bald Faced Hornet

One great thing about working in a small school is that there are lots of opportunities for people to get involved.

Everyone who works with the school other than the teachers and principle are volunteers.
That includes
secretaries
lunch room workers
janitors
handy men
fundraisers
bus drivers...

One of those volunteers is Layne's grandmother.
She came to me one day and told me she had something for my class.

Low and behold, it was a bald head hornet's nest.

Layne had gone camping with her grandparents the weekend before. Her grandfather noticed the nest, climbed into the tree it was in, and cut it down. Brave man!

We just finished studying insects and talked about the ones that make paper-nests.
These wasps and hornets chew up wood and mix it with their saliva to create the paste that makes the nest.  It was great for my students to get to see a paper-nest first hand. I love when they can experience what we're learning about first hand!

Fun Facts About the Bald Faced Hornet:

• There is a starch in their saliva that holds the paper of their nests together.
• The queen bee begins a new colony every season.
• All hornets except the queen bee die each winter.
• The queen bee hibernates in the winter under dead logs.
• Male Bald Faced Hornets have no stingers.
• These bees feed off nectar and fruit pulp.

Science Fair

I hated Science Fair when I was a student.

We were always allowed to choose between doing Science Fair and Invention Convention.
       I always chose Invention Convention.

At Abundant Life, however, Science Fair is a requirement.
I wasn't looking forward to having to look at and grade 14 projects.
It turns out, however, that I enjoyed getting to see the experiments my students performed!

I have some very creative students in my class.
I saw
homemade flashlights
glow sticks
volcanoes
laval lamps
electrical wiring
and floating eggs.

Congratulations to our 4th grade winners:
1st-Xavier
2nd-Zachary and Ian
3rd- Stone

September Student of the Month

Each month, I am going to choose a student to be the honored "Student of the Month." The student has to respect his or her classmates and any other people they come in contact with, show a desire to learn and grow, and be well behaved at all times.

My Student of the Month for September is Stone!

I chose Stone to be the Student of the Month for several reasons.

1. He always tries his hardest on every assignment we have (even though I have to push him sometimes :0).

2. He was the "new kid on the block" this year but jumped right in with the other students.

3. I have never heard Stone say anything negative about another student.

4. He has allowed me to work with him during some of his free time on a couple of concepts that are giving him trouble.

5. Stone is always willing to help his classmates, as well as me, when we need anything.

6. He follows procedures very well and does not talk when he knows he shouldn't.

I definitely think those are the makings of a Student of the Month!

CONGRATULATIONS STONE!

Parents are Great!

My students have been blessed with some great parents!
As a result, I have been blessed by them too!

I don't think there has been a day go by when I haven't seen at least one of my students' parents.
They may have been walking their child into class,
                                picking them up from school,
                                subbing for a sick teacher,
                                volunteering in the lunch room,
                                or bringing me supplies for my classroom!

I have received construction paper, pencils, erasers, mini white boards, even sets of books from parents who want to help out in the classroom.

I have parents who are willing to plan and carry out parties for our end of the month celebrations!
                When I asked if anyone would like to be a class mom for the year, I have 4 moms volunteer.

My class is going on a field trip in a couple of weeks and it is crucial to have chaperones for it. During my student teaching, we had trouble getting parents to participate in field trips. For this field trip, I had 12 parents volunteer to go with us. I only have 14 kids!

It is awesome to witness first hand how willing these parents are to make sacrifices so their children can learn and be successful.

I'm Singing in the Rain

But not really!

Rainy days are a pain.

I'm in a portable so any time we have to go somewhere
                                                    we have to go outside.

It just so happens that Wednesday was picture day--and guess what it was doing.
BINGO!
It was raining.
So we walked to get our pictures taken in the rain.
We were wet and rambunctious but managed to get everyone's pictures taken without any melt downs.

My kids do love getting to use umbrellas though. They've decided they want to use them when it's sunny outside too because "an umbrella can keep you cooler!"

I love how something simple can bring a kid so much joy!

So Much!

So I've learned a lot over the past 5 weeks but there in one thing in particular that strikes me.

Teaching is
so
much
work!

I'm at school from 7:00 to around 4:00 every day.
Then I go home and grade papers, make PowerPoints, write lesson plans, etc., etc., etc.
Hopefully it's only like this because it's my first year.

I do love it though.

I've now managed to have lesson plans ready for up to 2 weeks instead of just 1.
I have all of my papers printed and ready for the next week by Thursday.
I have a tentative schedule ready for an entire month by the first day of the month.

And in the midst of all of that planning, I still find time to talk to my boyfriend, hang out with my family, lead a Bible study, be in a Bible study, and maintain my relationship with the Lord.

Whew! I'm worn out!

Confirmation

Our Bible lesson yesterday was on not wanting what other people have.
I had my students go around the room and name something they wanted really bad.
Of course they all named

Playstation 4
X-Box
Cars
Dirt Bikes.

Then I had them think about something other than an object they wanted.
They named

to be a Marine
to be famous
to be happy
etc. etc. etc.

I shared with the class that something I want is to travel around the world. I talked about wanting to see other countries and explore different lands. I even shared that I'm jealous of people who have already done this.

One of my students raised his hands and said, "But if you traveled around the world you wouldn't get to be our teacher and God wants you to be our teacher."

It completely warmed my heart.
What better confirmation could I ask for than that?

Quote of the Day #1

Let me preface this.
As a reward, I give my students the option of getting a ticket (which they can save up to buy bigger rewards) or a tootsie roll.

My favorite quote of the day:

"We're about to rock and roll with your tootsie roll!"
                -4th Grader

A Bug's Life

We are studying insects in science. 
We read about how to create an insect zoo. 
     
                 Big mistake. 


Now, my students want to bring me any 

and every

bug










they find. 


Don't get me wrong. I love bugs...sort of...
I just don't like to touch them. To catch them, however, you have to-so I just let my kids do that part. 


I guess I should rejoice in the fact that they get so much excitement from what they are learning. 
And they really are learning the stuff.
They point bugs out to me all the time and are able to tell me exactly what kind they are.
This makes my heart smile :0)


They are learning!

Grandparent's Day

My grandparents have played a very important role in my life.

My Grandma Evelyn kept me when I was a kid.
     She taught me to write my name.
     She taught me manners.
     She instilled a love for reading in me.

My Grandpa Ed continually told me how special I am.
     He gave me ice cream money.
     He always told me I was beautiful.
     He showed me that people really can love like Jesus does.

My Grandma Dot has been a Godly example in my life.
     She served our family by cooking lunch every Sunday.
     She let me spend the night with her and sleep in her bed.
     She made me laugh by making funny faces and "playing her nose."

My Grandpa Bobby has never failed to tell me he loves me.
     He gives me the best hugs.
     He teases me about Clemson in a gentle way.
     He has the best laugh ever.

My grandparents are wonderful-and so are my students'.

On Friday, I was able to welcome 13 grandparents into my classroom.

It was incredible to see how willing these grandparents were to take time out of their day to visit their grandchildren. I was so encouraged to see the support my students have from them! As we did our activities, I watched my students get loved on by these important people in their lives.

Thank you to my grandparents and to all other grandparents for being a positive influence in the lives of your grandchildren.

Wonders of God

The assignment was to create a collage about the wonders God has created using pictures from magazines.

This was the result.

Love is in the Air

Who knew 4th graders had so many hormones rushing through their bodies?
Not me!

The topic of discussion at the lunch table today was which guys and girls are "open."
           Apparently that is the new word for single.
If anyone stated that they were open, they were immediately bombarded by a list of people they should ask out.

I only know of one couple in my class and they are adorable.
I was informed during the summer by the guy in the relationship that they have been boyfriend and girlfriend for 4 years now. 4 YEARS! 4th graders are so commited!
They are actually a very good example of what a good relationship (in my opinion) should look like.
         They play and talk with students other than their respective other.
         They are best friends.
         They are kind to one another and help each other out when they need it.
         They appear to be happy together.
         They aren't ashamed of their relationship.
Way to go you two! Many adults don't even get relationships right but somehow you have managed to.

Broken but Growing

This is one of my students.
He got hit in the leg by a helmeted head.
This was the result.


Getting him where he needs to be can be frustrating.
This is how we get to and from recess:


He begins in his chair in the classroom.
      He gets his crutches and walks to the door.
            The person who is responsible for helping him that week
            helps him get in his wheelchair.
                   He is wheeled to the playground.
                          He is given his crutches so he can get over the
                          cement barrier and into the playground.
                                He plays.
                          He makes his way back to his wheelchair
                    He is wheeled back to the classroom.
              He is given his crutches.
       He walks back to his seat.


Worn out yet? I am!


In the midst of all this chaos, however, it has been cool to see him learn to get in and out of the wheelchair and move more than a few inches at a time on his crutches.


Most of all, I have loved watching the students take care of him. Although one student is given the responsibility, everyone helps when the opportunity presents itself. His temporary disability is helping grow my class together.

I don't want to be a worm!

This was how our morning started off yesterday.

After we played with the worm for a few minutes, one of the twins decided to stick it down the other's shirt.

These boys told that story all day long.

Blugh

I went home sick yesterday.
It was only my 4th day!
Why did I have to get sick on the 4th day? Things were just starting to roll smoothly!

I made it to lunch time and then the principal took over.
I went home, crawled in the bed, and slept for two hours.

Then I felt better.

What in the world? What a strange sickness.

I went to school today and taught everything just like usual.
Lord, thank you for making me feel better!

They Love Bubbles As Much As I Do

I survived my first day!

Not only did I survive, but I think the day went as well as it possibly could.
My students are wonderful.
      They are a little rambunctious but what can you expect with four girls and ten boys?

My main focus for today was to welcome my students and help them feel comfortable in the classroom.
      To do that, we got to know each other by making and sharing concept maps about ourselves.
      My students helped me develop the classroom rules and created signs to display those rules.
      I taught them the basic procedures that we will use throughout the year for
                  rewards
                  consequences
                  compliments
                  getting their attention
                  responsibilities.

The highlights of the day, however, were
1. Science
2. The 1st Day of School Celebration

We set out bug traps in science! We are going to be studying insects so my students dug holes in our "back yard" and put bowls in the ground to catch bugs in. They loved getting to go outside and get a little dirty.

To close out the day, we celebrated the beginning of the school year with our 1st Day of School Celebration. We had snacks, listened to some music, and did a craft.
My favorite part, however, was the bubble machine!
          I love bubbles so I thought a bubble machine would be a good investment.
               It was!
          Everyone had a blast popping, dancing with, and yes, even eating the bubbles!

Today was most definitely a success.

                 
                    

On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!

Believe it or not, summer is over.
Say goodbye to sleeping late, floating in the pool, and watching TV all day.
                             The madness has begun!

I participated in my very first "Meet the Teacher" tonight. 
I wasn't a parent.
I wasn't a sister.
I was the teacher!

As nervous and jittery as I was, things went much smoother than I thought they would. Instead of standing in front of the parents of 14 students and giving a formal presentation about my class, parents dropped in to meet me, filled out some papers, and headed to the sanctuary of Abundant Life to hear what our principal had to say. 
It was relaxed.
        It was encouraging.
It was fun. 
        I feel good about it.
I'm ready to get going!