"Hello my precious cow!" exclaims a small, munchkin-like voice behind me.
"What did you just call me?!"
The whole class explodes into laughter. Apparently, there was an actual "precious cow" in the classroom. In the form of a stuffed animal. Whew. I knew I was getting fat, but good Lord, please don't compare me to cattle just yet.
Monday and Tuesday were the big STAAR Testing days. So today, we decided to give the kids a much needed break from all the pressure, and hosted an in-class Read-a-Thon. Blankets, stuffed animals, and books lined the floor of my classroom. Books on every subject. From Poke-mon to Paramedics. Captain Underpants and Junie B. Jones joined in on the fun as well. The students were astonished to actually have read a chapter book in one sitting! Go figure! You sit still long enough, lots of things can happen:) Even I was able to read 8 chapters of Ann Petry's "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad". It was hard to put it down, but of course, there were interruptions.....
Student: (pointing to the book in my hand) Mrs. Banks, have you ever read this book?
Me: Yeah. I've read it 35 times.
Student: (head tilted. half smirk appearing) For once, I kinda don't believe you.
Student 2: Don't believe anything she says! She told us there was a whole bunch of fidget spinners buried on the playground and there's no such thing. We tried digging and I didn't find any. Not one!
Me: Well maybe you weren't looking in the right place. There's about 12 of them by now.
Student 3: You said it was a grave yard. I didn't see any little stones.
Me: (pointing to the book in S3's hand) Hey. I feel like you've been with that book a lonnnnnng time.
Student 2: He's been on the same page, too!
Student 3: It's my favorite page!
Me: It's blank!
END SCENE
So, the fidget spinners were a lie. I made it up in order to entice the children's imagination and allow Mrs. English and myself a little free time to ourselves at the "supervising bench" on the playground. Instead, I ended up with a huge mess.
I told the kids that a 5th grade teacher had been confiscating the figet spinners and burying them in the "right side" of the playground. I air-quoted "right side" when I told the kids because it's relative, depending on which door you use to go out to the playground. Mrs. Norwood, the librarian, was in on the whole thing. Mrs. Norwood soon regretted joining me in such a charade after having post-lunch recess duty and having to scream at the kids to "STOP DIGGING!" Apparently, there was a frenzy. I may never earn back her trust. Nor the kids. Some are still undecided about the validity of my story. To quote Mrs. English: "Use your brains for a second. Do you reallllllly think that's true?"
Still. Most are undecided. Need to work on the whole "use your brains" thing:)
Back to the Read-a-thon. Here are 5 reasons why it might not be a great idea:
1. Too many blankets= too many children who are seemingly "missing" while inside such a small classroom! "Ryan?! Where's Ryan?! Did he leave the classroom? And Carter! Carter's gone, too?!"
No... they are right beside me. Buried under a blanket, about halfway through a chapter book. Such an alarming false alarm, indeed.
2. Too many boys wanting to sit next to girls and girls getting jealous because that boy sat next to that girl and now they're the third wheel.
STOP. You are THIRD graders. Make like the Red Sea and part yourselves!
3. Too much jazz music playing in the background= kids asking you why it's starting to smell like Starbucks.
4. Too much relaxation will cause you, the teacher, to quickly become a fun-loving jokester and in turn, people get out of control. Quick.
5. Blanket forts can be dangerous. Especially when you use Chrome books to "secure the rigging".
In short- Read-a-thons and extra recess, although a great way to bond with your students, could cause alternative situations to arise. I'm glad we all made it out alive:) Back to the basics tomorrow. Happy Wednesday, everybody!
"What did you just call me?!"
The whole class explodes into laughter. Apparently, there was an actual "precious cow" in the classroom. In the form of a stuffed animal. Whew. I knew I was getting fat, but good Lord, please don't compare me to cattle just yet.
Monday and Tuesday were the big STAAR Testing days. So today, we decided to give the kids a much needed break from all the pressure, and hosted an in-class Read-a-Thon. Blankets, stuffed animals, and books lined the floor of my classroom. Books on every subject. From Poke-mon to Paramedics. Captain Underpants and Junie B. Jones joined in on the fun as well. The students were astonished to actually have read a chapter book in one sitting! Go figure! You sit still long enough, lots of things can happen:) Even I was able to read 8 chapters of Ann Petry's "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad". It was hard to put it down, but of course, there were interruptions.....
Student: (pointing to the book in my hand) Mrs. Banks, have you ever read this book?
Me: Yeah. I've read it 35 times.
Student: (head tilted. half smirk appearing) For once, I kinda don't believe you.
Student 2: Don't believe anything she says! She told us there was a whole bunch of fidget spinners buried on the playground and there's no such thing. We tried digging and I didn't find any. Not one!
Me: Well maybe you weren't looking in the right place. There's about 12 of them by now.
Student 3: You said it was a grave yard. I didn't see any little stones.
Me: (pointing to the book in S3's hand) Hey. I feel like you've been with that book a lonnnnnng time.
Student 2: He's been on the same page, too!
Student 3: It's my favorite page!
Me: It's blank!
END SCENE
So, the fidget spinners were a lie. I made it up in order to entice the children's imagination and allow Mrs. English and myself a little free time to ourselves at the "supervising bench" on the playground. Instead, I ended up with a huge mess.
I told the kids that a 5th grade teacher had been confiscating the figet spinners and burying them in the "right side" of the playground. I air-quoted "right side" when I told the kids because it's relative, depending on which door you use to go out to the playground. Mrs. Norwood, the librarian, was in on the whole thing. Mrs. Norwood soon regretted joining me in such a charade after having post-lunch recess duty and having to scream at the kids to "STOP DIGGING!" Apparently, there was a frenzy. I may never earn back her trust. Nor the kids. Some are still undecided about the validity of my story. To quote Mrs. English: "Use your brains for a second. Do you reallllllly think that's true?"
Still. Most are undecided. Need to work on the whole "use your brains" thing:)
Back to the Read-a-thon. Here are 5 reasons why it might not be a great idea:
1. Too many blankets= too many children who are seemingly "missing" while inside such a small classroom! "Ryan?! Where's Ryan?! Did he leave the classroom? And Carter! Carter's gone, too?!"
No... they are right beside me. Buried under a blanket, about halfway through a chapter book. Such an alarming false alarm, indeed.
2. Too many boys wanting to sit next to girls and girls getting jealous because that boy sat next to that girl and now they're the third wheel.
STOP. You are THIRD graders. Make like the Red Sea and part yourselves!
3. Too much jazz music playing in the background= kids asking you why it's starting to smell like Starbucks.
4. Too much relaxation will cause you, the teacher, to quickly become a fun-loving jokester and in turn, people get out of control. Quick.
5. Blanket forts can be dangerous. Especially when you use Chrome books to "secure the rigging".
In short- Read-a-thons and extra recess, although a great way to bond with your students, could cause alternative situations to arise. I'm glad we all made it out alive:) Back to the basics tomorrow. Happy Wednesday, everybody!
Love your blogs sweety. I have missed you and your sense of humor so much!
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