It feels so much better...

I did not fall off the face of the earth, and my students did not stop coming to school, despite what it may seem like due to my lack of posts. I'll try to combine all my scribbled notes from the last month into one coherent post.

I wasn't sure I was ready to come back to school after Christmas break. I asked the students if they were ready and was answered with a mixture of cheers and groans. I heard one student say, "It feels so much better to be at school." How could I not be happy to be back after hearing that?

Over break I resupplied my prize box, and I've realized that sometimes the simplest, cheapest prizes are the favorite ones! I added some certificates that allow students to eat lunch at a table with a couple friends (instead of at their desks). This turned out to be a big hit!

My students continue to make me laugh. One girl told me that someone she knows is funny because her nose holes get bigger when she laughs. It makes me wonder what she says about me!

After learning about Martin Luther King Jr., I had them write a paragraph about their dreams. That is, after I convinced them that each of them does have dreams, stuffed somewhere deep inside of them. It was cute to read what some of them wrote. One girl wants to be "a hospital person." Another wants to travel around the world, like Canada and other places. One student is dreaming about traveling a little farther than Canada; he would like to go to Pluto or the moon.

They're creative in other subject areas as well. They've just written poems. First, we wrote a class poem together, which I think turned out pretty great.

Sunday Morning at Church

Clink! Plink!

The offering plates go by.

The pastor preaches at the pulpit.

Waa! A baby starts wailing!

I hear the preacher praying.

We sing.

Our voices ring.

Alleluia!

I noticed in their individual poems, there are a lot of wailing babies.

This class sure keeps me on my toes. One boy asked me a question about the Pythagorean Theorem. I didn't even know a third grader knew that was a thing. I guess I'll have to refer him to a high school math teacher, because I didn't know the answer. Other students wanted to know where Joan of Arc got her name from, since she was from a town not called Arc. I had to consult Wikipedia for that one. I graded their social studies tests today on the Medieval Times, and I actually had to go back and reread a few passages, because I wasn't sure if the facts they wrote were accurate. Turns out they were; they remembered more than I did!

And lastly, a few snowmen to brighten up February.