I am having lunch now- it's 3:45pm!!
I should be at my staff fitness class but I can't eat lunch, get the classroom ship shape and be ready for our parent meeting at 5pm so I have done something I find very difficult (said 'no' to something!!!) and chosen instead to be calm eat and do the class Blog so I can share it with parents tonight instead of running around like a chicken without a head. Yes, I am still multi-tasking (which reports now say is not the best thing we can do to ourselves) but I am at peace with my decision.
Homework today
Nothing new tonight
So it's the same as yesterday...
Spelling Unit 6
Novel Read chapters 11-15 (images)
Math divisibility- try some BEDMAS practise
Science organisms booklet- that's organisms people!!! lol You can imagine what the students have been referring to it as!! They are 12 and bawdy (pun intended) humour is big ! Help!
Good news is that today I have been slowly receiving homework assignments which have been 'trickling' in - bits and pieces but it's all good (now it's up to me to get it all together and finally catch up with assessment!
Looking forward to seeing any parents that can make it to class tonight at 5-6pm for our get-together. I still have a suspicion that some might be expecting a parent-teacher interview!! Oh well...I'll get some Starbucks and cookies and maybe they'll not be too disappointed!
Our Whacky Day
PUMPKIN CARVING 101
I lost sleep over how to get this organized in class and truth is the students were noisy (but the engaged noisy not the disruptive noisy) and did a fantastic job of getting into teams and carving 10 pumpkins. Yes, I said carving and, yes, sharp implements were involved and it was amazing. We were aware of safety becuse I tend to be a bit 'anal' about that. They certainly seemed to enjoy themselves and were quite creative. The BEST part no one complained, no one was injured (my nightmare!!) AND the clean up was painless and done in 10 minutes. So proud of them I wanted to hug them all but I was cool and high fived instead. 10 pumpkins, clean up in an hour- priceless fun watching them work and in some instances even carve the faces right off their pumpkins by mistake and then watching them trying to attach the severed face with tape was too funny. Very whacky but worthwhile team/class bonding activity.
After snack and after two days in a row of math, we needed to spend some time with the class novel, The Giver. I used specific passages from Ch 11-15 to analyze the text, model the finding of images using the author's words and our prior 'experience'. I am so encouraged by how the students are responding to the reading in their classroom discussion and really seeing the deeper implications. Today we discussed the freedom of choice and our right to make mistakes in our decisions, the inportance of memory in making choices, whether anyone else can be in control of our choices and if they are how do we know if their choices are the right ones for us. Fabulous- gave me goose bumps and at one point I had to let the CD run longer than intended because I was so emotional about the part in the book where they talk so glibly about 'releasing' the twin who is the smallest that I couldn't talk and I think the students thought I had lost it but they were so engaged reading I don't think too many noticed!!
DEAR time was satisfactory- code for could have been better. However, they really are getting the time to READ. I am still working with a few 'picture pointers' who need to start to use the time to READ.
Personal Planning today was about human beings and our social needs. We did a personal Needs inventory and looked at (connections) to the novel and our decision making based on what we perhaps even subconsciously perceive as our needs. The question we posed was is our behaviour a direct result of our needs in a social situation. We have both extrovert and introvert personalities in the class- how much is their personality affected by their 'need'?
Computers- haven't been to the lab in a while. Mrs P. came to assist :) and she complimented the students on the changes she sees over the last few weeks in their ability to use their computer time productively. Reader's responses and socials webs were being completed OR free time for the organized students :)
Phys. Ed. next - oh boy- still, we manged to play at least 20 minutes of team circle dodge (although I didn't get a chance to call all numbers). The students still have adifficult time getting their ducks in a row or getting theselves into a circle (5minuts!!??) then they want me to change the game rules to suit them and what they want/know. I try not to sweat the small stuff- they are responding better to the whistles and as I said, we did get 20 minutes to play but lordy if only they would 'chill out' we may have had 30 minutes.
I hate to admit it but the dismaissal bell rang before we were finished in the gym and it was a bit of a panic trying to get them all back upstairs (when others wee coming down), packed up and with homework.
We all survived (I hear Gloria Gaynor's pop tune in my head "I will survive" (am I showing my age- you know disco... Gloria G's. "I will survive?) never mind!!
See some of you soon. I'm off to Starbuck's.
Mrs. J.
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