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November 2011 - Posts
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Right now, even though it is after seven at night, I am not at home. Right now, you are only reading this because I just figured out how to schedule a post – yay me! Right now, I’ve had a thirteen hour plus day with barely a moment to use the bathroom. Read More...
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Going back to school after an extended break (the kids had a week off) is always difficult. I woke up late this morning realizing about fourteen things I needed to get done before the sprouts arrived… Up late and back to work – sounds like I’m ripe for Read More...
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As the holiday shopping season kicks off, attention has shifted from Black Friday to Cyber Monday… the Monday after Thanksgiving when everyone returns to work and apparently does their holiday shopping online. As I watched the news today and heard about Read More...
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Clearly going back to school tomorrow is on my mind… I woke up this morning in the middle of a very odd dream… I dreamt I took my entire class on a field trip to the American Music Awards. Now, I didn’t watch the American Music Awards when they were on Read More...
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Oh how I love my third grade teacher friends. During the past two professional development workshop days, I’ve gotten to spend more time with them than usual and they always help me remember just how far my sprouts have to go. They also can be downright Read More...
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Oh Professional Development days… show me a teacher who would not rather spend the day with their sprouts and I’ll show you a unicorn… but I digress. I do my best to stay awake, interested, and engaged. I drink a lot of water and take lots of bathroom Read More...
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I’m not a gifted singer, but I love to sing. I’m under the impression that my love of music makes my voice just a little bit better. Here’s the secret they don’t tell you in your education classes (shhh! Don’t tell anyone…) – Kids don’t care if you can Read More...
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Oh the day before a week off (to be clear, I don’t have the week off, but the kids do). There’s a little crazy excitement in the air and you just can’t quite contain it… Here are the highlights from my last day of Thanksgiving fun: After Quiet Time, when Read More...
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Well, apparently all the Vitamin Water and Airborne won’t keep you healthy when you have kindergarteners coughing and sneezing directly on you. Seriously, with all the lessons on covering our mouths, in the heat of a cough or sneeze, they just sometimes Read More...
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A few years ago, a parent gave me a set of jungle animals with a mat. There are twenty-six animals, each with a different letter on them. The mat has all the letters and you can probably figure out how you might use these in a kindergarten classroom. Read More...
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Today, as I dropped the class off at Art, we were waiting for another class to pass in the hallway (seriously, sometimes the hallway feels like congested highway traffic, but I digress…), Elena, the line leader, holding my hand, leaned on me. A full on, Read More...
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Today was a good day… you can’t always say that on a Monday, but today was different. Here’s why: Elena, a shy, quiet little girl, who has never hugged me before, came up and gave me a great bear hug when I picked the class up from P.E. On the playground, Read More...
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A coworker lent me The Truth About DIBELS over the summer and as with all professional books, it sat on my bedside table for awhile (months). I recently finished this short book and found it fascinating. The authors present the various DIBELS tests and Read More...
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Oh how I love when a sprout from last year pops in to say hello in the morning. This year, many friends have come to say hello, some from day one, and others, only recently. Nicole was a shy, quiet little girl who took many months last year to even speak Read More...
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Today I’m going to get a tad personal. It’s Veterans Day so I have the day off and have been thinking a lot about my grandfather. He has told me some amazing (and horrific) war stories over the years. As I stood in line at Dunkin’ Donuts remembering all Read More...
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It never ceases to amaze me how the power of a child’s pure love to fix almost anything. After a rough day, I was sitting in my chair, trying to calm the class after reading buddies. As I sat there, thinking about what to say to quiet them quickly, Will Read More...
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There’s not a quote I can find to say what I’m feeling, so I’m going to write one myself: It takes an entire community to care for children… if you see or hear a child in need, take notice, step up, be there, not just for him, but for their teacher too. Read More...
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Well it begins. The race towards Thanksgiving has begun. Today we sang Turkey Time (four times) and read Run, Turkey, Run! (three times). There is just something downright AWESOME about turkeys and Thanksgiving… I hope to share many related stories in Read More...
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After reading a recent article about the readiness of children entering kindergarten, I couldn’t help but think about the life skills of those same students. The article focused on academics, but I’m always surprised at what seemingly simple everyday Read More...
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First, a big thank you to everyone who participated. Unfortunately, there can only be four winners. Soooooo – here they are: 1. Percy Gets Upset - Sherilyn L. 2. Percy Plays It Safe – Karl G. 3. Emma’s Friendwich - turtle-siobhan T 4. Write On, Carlos! Read More...
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Pickle says… Today is the LAST day to enter the I See I Learn Giveaway… Two! I will select winners and post them tomorrow! Good luck to everyone! Read More...
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Today, during Quiet Time, I called Molly over. She looked confused… “You’re not in trouble,” I whispered. “I just wanted to ask you if you know how smart you are?” I asked her. She nodded and replied, “Yeah… lots.” She hugged me and returned to her seat. Read More...
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Today at the end of our staff meeting, we were asked to thank someone anonymously. We wrote a short note and then their name on it to be delivered tomorrow… I wanted to thank this person publicly… without naming him… Our social worker is a big, almost Read More...
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