second six weeks playlist

I'm a teacher. I think in time frames of six weeks.
And today is the end of my kid's second six weeks in kindergarten.
(and thankfully, i have one more of mine b/c I haven't graded since progress reports!)

But today my son gets out early and is officially 1/3 of the way finished with his first year in school.
12 weeks ago he struggled to count to twenty. Tonight he fired off to 110.
12 weeks ago and I read the bedtime stories. Tonight he read me one.
12 weeks ago I was nervous about him making friends. Tonight I spent a good portion of the evening on the phone working out his social calendar.
11 weeks ago we had our share of ugly notes home. These days he comes home with a lot more stamps and smiley faces.

He loves school. He is totally hot for his teacher and some girl named Whitney in his class. And he can't wait to do his homework.
Tonight we didn't have any homework, but were planning for tomorrow's show and tell. His jumping beans have stopped jumping and he hasn't lost any teeth yet.
He was a little stumped so I suggested that he resort to what we did the first week when I wasn't sure if he was supposed to bring anything.
Dance. Because he totally has some new moves (well new old moves like the moonwalk, the runing man, the grocery cart and even the hammer)
AND
He told me that his teacher said you couldn't dance for show and tell.
I'm thinking of scheduling a conference.

(and the husband left the new dance footage at work, so I'll have to upload later....I promise I'll put it up but here is the original show and tell...)

Comments

multiple choice

As I write I am procturing a test ( yes on a Saturday, and no I am not getting paid for it.) The room is silent. The only noises I hear are pencils scratching on papers and pages turning. If I listen closely enough I swear I can hear their brains turning. I have always been a good test-taker. I would still regularly brag about my SAT scores if it wre socially appropriate to do so(or an actual indicator of anything meaningful). There is something comforting about multiple choice. (well as long as you don't have the crappy all of the above or none of the above choices...just the classic A, B, C, D variety). There are parameters. Multiple choice means you have options. The right answer is right in front of you, and all you have to do is find it. Even if you don't actually know which one the right answer is there are usually clues, it can be narrowed down or worked backwards. Even a blind guess is likely to be right 25% of the time. These aren't bad odds. All you have t...

Turning the question

My school has been sending me to some inquiry training. The “i” word has been thrown around since my education classes in college. It is one of those things that is really good as a concept but kind of hard to pull off in the classroom well. For lots of reasons. But the big one number is because teachers are reluctant to let go of the control. To let the kids loose with a concept and see where they end up. Let them discover, own it and share out all on their own. Without intervening. Then push them a little bit further and clear up any misconceptions that they are holding onto before they slip out your door. This is supposed to be the most meaningful way for a kid to learn. For them to discover rather than memorize. One of the other problems with inquiry and science is that kids have stopped learning how to ask questions. My son bombards me with whys all day long. Why are owls nocturnal? (which comes out a lot more like “not-turtles”) Why do I have to take a shower? Why ...

Meet the teacher

People keep asking me how I am or if I am going to cry. And few weeks ago, I kept saying no. I mean, I am used to dropping Owen off everyday at school. Or I’m at least used to Shaun dropping him off. I am used to school. I do it everyday. But. The first day is Monday. His and mine. And I am not ready. And I don’t just mean that my syllabus isn’t copied and that there are boxes all over my room. That would be true. But I am having doubts about my kid entering this world. The kind with lockers and buliten boards and hall passes. And tests. A world where from now on, he will be receiving a grade. Where he will be compared, judged, scolded, and ranked. We met his teacher the other night. Turns out I taught her son not too many years ago. Owen was off playing within seconds with a friend from his soccer team. Tearing the room apart. Ecstatic when he saw a big tub of legos. He will be just fine. But I wasn't so sure about me. I was suddenly filled with questions. The basic ones. Like how...

idontbelieveingrammar

Search This Blog