Little Life Coaches: 2011

So it is summer break! I am supposed to be relaxing and not being a teacher. Right? Well, I had an Ah-Ha! Moment. I am a addict. I don't drink or smoke.

But I am addicted to teaching!

The summers seem to be the worst. Our house looks like a classroom exploded inside of the dining room. There are stacks of binders and paper and pencils and PD books and kid's books. I am sure my family would like to eat dinner at the table sometime this summer but....true to addictive behavior, I turn nasty when they suggest cleaning it off. My favorite reply, "I will be finished tomorrow!", that day has not come in 6 summers until the school carpets are clean and I am allowed to move my mess back to the classroom.

To be a teacher is to be a hoarder, another horrible addiction, but you must have a large bag o' tricks if you are to teach well. You never know what kind of challenge you will face. I am a resource hoarder. I am very cleaver at my hoarding. I no longer purchase books, I upload them. I have a large library that I can carry in my pocket and no one is the wiser. I am slowly replacing paper books with E-books and passing the paper on to some other poor teaching addict. I was witness to the worst teacher hording issues I have ever seen when Listy Listerstine moved out of her classroom last week. Holy Guacamole, Batman! That girl had some stuff. It was funny to watch all the other hoarders in the building salivating as she passed out paper and pencils and markers! Yes, I was in line and will miss that girl dearly. I will miss her because she has been my classroom neighbor for quite a few years and because now I think I may be the worst hoarding case on our team!

Another thing that I decided this morning was that blogs are connecting me with other teaching addicts. They continue, even over the summer, to blog and create for their classroom. I have uploaded and downloaded so many files of creativity in the past few days. I have purchased things from TpT and followed so many blogs that I can't even remember the names any more. It is amazing! I have found my niche, my place in the world.
My name is Christa. I am a teacher ... and I am an addict!

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There were TEARS!

So yesterday was the last day of second grade. Well, not for me....for them! They are moving on and I am teaching second grade again next year. This is a new concept for me because I have never taught the same grade twice (at least in a row)!

Let me preface this post with a little bit of personal insight. I am not a crier. I am an only child and I was treated like a girl by my mom and a boy by my dad. I don't know if my dad told me not to cry but crying was not used to manipulate things. You should be truly hurt before crying was necessary. Like when my first boyfriend broke my heart, my dad held me and let me cry it out. But if you scrapped your knee, you had better get up, dust off and move on. Plus I am just not a pretty crier. I get all blotchy and red. The tears don't pour they tend to pool, so I can't see well. My nose instantly starts running which is the most unattractive thing ever. Other people's tears don't affect me either, unless it is at a funeral. So, the bottom line is I don't cry very often.

Our day was going very well. We had 100% attendance! We had finished our memory books including photos glued in the wrong spots, but still super cute and kid created. Our plethora of parent volunteers had served a fantastic breakfast buffet and our party coordinator had a ton of fun games and crafts. A fantastic end of the year party was in full swing but time was pouring out of the second grade hour glass, quickly! So with 15 minutes left, I called them into their last share circle. Ahhh, finally, my class was back under my control. They were so cute in their wiggly, sugar induced states, trying so hard to wait their turn and remember everything they wanted to say. We made it around to me. I told them my favorite activity was the mustache pictures because I will always smile when I see that picture and having them in my class was my favorite part because they were really good together. I was in a state of bliss: the year is over, I survived, I was positive about their progress, confident that they would do well in third grade. It was a good place to be in!

The sand finally ran out and it was time to pack up and navigate the hallways to carpool. I gave the instruction and all hell broke loose. Mosh, who has been in my class for two years, gave me a great big hug! Love Mosh! He turned around, walked over to his mom and broke down in tears. That was the end of me!! I started crying then I turned around and more kids were crying. I had moms crying and hugging me too! Everyone was leaking! I hate when people leak...especially when it is me!

There were tears! For almost a hour after they left. I did not realize how attached I had become to these little nerdlets (I am tearing up as I type). It is such a raw emotion and I am stunned at how deeply I am affected. I have taught for 6 years and I have never broke down like I did yesterday. NEVER! I guess I will chalk it up as a new experience and see what happens next year with this new batch of cookies that are coming into second grade. I am sure my teammates (who gave me so much grief about "the flood") will be taking bets on if I will cry or not next year!

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Memories of Writing!

Here we are...the end of another school year! My Little Life Coaches are moving on to third grade. (tear!) I have had them for two years and I didn't realize how hard it would be to send them on after a loop. This is the first (and last) time I will loop with a class since the school stopped looping this year.

This summer, I am starting on a journey, of sorts. I guess you could call it a quest. I like the sound of that better. A quest to become a better writing teacher!

Here is the deal....I don't remember being taught to write! I am reading a professional tome and these people are discussing how they were taught to write. I don't possess these memories. I don't remember a lot from birth to second grade but that is another post for another time. If those memories are in there, they are buried deep.

I remember 8th grade and diagramming sentences. Ahhh! Mrs. Rios....she was a best! No, really, she was a fantastic, creative teacher....she just really liked to diagram sentences! But in my book, that is grammar, not writing.

The guru on my quest is Lucy Caulkins, as mandated by our school. I was a little resistant, but I usually am when it comes to mandates. I typically like to find my own way, strike a new path. Basically, I reinvent the wheel and make life hard on myself. Maybe the answer to why I do that is buried with my memories of writing.

So, I received this enormous book in the mail yesterday. The Art of Teaching Writing. I didn't want to read it. I had a ton of excuses...it's a bad fit for me...too many sayings and catch phrases...too scripted...too much! But, I the made the commitment and I promised myself that I would trust the process. I made a promise to myself that I would trust the process. So, I sat down and read the first chapter, and the second. Stopped to get a highlighter and started again. Chapter One, Two Three and Four. I am hooked!

So this is the first step in my year long journey, to not only become a better writing teacher but to see myself as a writer. Maybe if I am writing, I will be able to support and guide my Little Life Coaches. Maybe, just maybe, they will have deep, profound memories of second grade and remember how they were taught to write!

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Little Life Coaches

Doughnuts with sprinkles!

Poppins Vs. McPhee...who will win?

The Pinterest Tree!

The Students are Coming!

Writing Menu

Mapping Skills Part 1

Peace, Love and Learning: Bonus Birthday Freebie

Camping Across America: Mapping Skills

Ah-HA! Moment

There were TEARS!

Memories of Writing!

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