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.