End of the year thoughts

When people asked me how my school year was going, I usually answered, "Challenging." It was the best word I could come up with. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't easy either. There were good times, lots of fun times, moments of laughter, times of frustration (okay, many times of frustration!), and many exhausting days! So as the year came to a close today, I feel a mixture of emotions:

• a sense of accomplishment for surviving!
•  gratefulness for the many people who have prayed me through the year, specifically for my wonderful mom who sent me an encouraging email every day with an inspirational quote and a loving reminder that she was praying :) 
• thankfulness for the time God gave me to get to know my 25 unique and precious students and for the chance to pour into their lives 
• sadness because my time with them is over 
• happiness for all the growth I've seen in them throughout the year and that they are indeed ready to move on to fourth grade 

I told the class some of the things I appreciate about them are their enthusiasm and how they are good friends to each other. It was neat to see them display that by clapping and cheering for each other as I handed out individual certificates of appreciation. I told them that  the hard and challenging times they have as a class can bring them closer together and make them better friends. And as I think back over the year, I realize that one of the reasons I am reluctant to let them go is because the challenges have brought us close together. But like I told them today, I am excited to see how uniquely God will use each of them. 

I read an article in the newspaper last week about a 30-some-year-old man who still writes letters to his third grade teacher and has written two or three times a year since third grade. I told my students about him, and said that if they write me, I'll write back, and who knows? Maybe we'll still be writing when they're 30 years old! :) And then one of them said, "You won't be alive when we're 30!" I sure will miss those one-liners!

End of the year anticipation

I've eagerly been keeping track of the number of school days left along with the students! It's time for summer! As the time draws closer, their attention span is getting shorter, they are getting chattier, and their teacher is getting less patient by the day. The number of items that I need to confiscate during class also seems to be growing:

However, as I sit down and reflect on the past year and my students, it's beginning to hit me that I only have 4 days left with them! And only one of those is a normal day in the classroom. On the last day of school, I give Certificates of Appreciation for something unique that I appreciate about each student from the school year. I've kept my lists from the last two years, and so I thought that it would be fairly easy this year to just assign those to my current students. However, as I sat down to work on it today, I realized that it's not that simple, because each student is special, and each class is unlike any class that came before them. So it was time to hit the thesaurus again. :) It will be hard to say good-bye on Friday, and I will miss each one dearly... from the Exciting Entertainer to the Social Studies Specialist to the Hardworking Hero to the Considerate Encourager... But I am so thankful for the time I've been able to spend with them and get to know them. It's exciting to think about how God will use each one of them as they grow!

Amusing comments to get me through the day

The students were making me laugh today!

In Reading class, I asked, “How many of you have been to a circus?” Many of them raised their hands and had comments about it. One boy replied, “We were going to go to the circus one time, but instead we went to WalMart.”

Later we read a poem and were talking about thunderstorms. One boy told a story about a storm, and as he was speaking at least five more hands went up. I started saying, “We don’t have time…” One student - "Johnny" - didn't let me finish, but he knows me well. I was going to say, "We don't have time for stories right now." Beating me to it, Johnny started furiously waving his hand in the air right in front of my face, chanting, “It’s not a story, it’s not a story, it’s not a story!”
“Johnny,” I started.
“Okay, it’s a story, but-”
Of course the whole class, including myself, started laughing at that!

In Social Studies a few weeks ago I taught the class the word entrepreneur. They had the hardest time saying it, but now that they (at least some of them) can, it comes up at the oddest times. Like the other day I wanted them to remember the word foreshadowing, and someone answered "entrepreneur." Today I asked who the leader of the circus is, looking for the word ringmaster. You guessed it - someone thought he was called an entrepreneur.

In Spelling this week, all their words end with "tion." I was giving them riddles today and they were choosing spelling words to answer them. One riddle was a 3-syllable word that means “exact words.” Johnny was not into this activity, and when I tried to encourage him to find the word, he confidently said, “Oh, I know. It’s lamentation.” Not quite, buddy, especially since that's not one of your spelling words.

Johnny also happened to be the milk person today to get cartons of milk for the class. "How many pieces of milk?" he loudly asked at lunchtime. I smiled to myself and let the other students correct him.  "…whatever they’re called."

Third grade senioritis

Is it possible for third graders to have senioritis? Because I'm convinced mine have it.

Last night I was grading Language papers, and there was one student who did not do so well. When I got to the bottom of his paper, I understood why. He had written, "41 minutes to recess." At least he was putting time-telling skills to use, since obviously he didn't care too much about articles.

Today I made one of my students stay in from recess to get some work done.  When I insisted he finish a Language page, he dramatically proclaimed, "I'd rather you stab me in the back than have to do this worksheet!"

This afternoon instead of fighting, I gave them extra recess. Maybe I'm feeling a little senioritis myself.

15 more days. Although even that's a daily argument about whether we're counting today or not. :)

Strict substitutes & spelling test commentary

I think I need to take more days off. Not only did I go into school today feeling refreshed and re-energized, but my students happily reported to me that they were much better for the substitute than they are for me. And I know this is true, because all the students agreed. They were sure to tell me that everyone even followed along in their Reading books! Of course I was relieved to hear that they had a good day, but, honestly, I was a little exasperated too. "What do I have to do for you to behave like that for me?" I asked. They informed me that she was stricter. I asked for examples, and they told me phrases she said, such as "Eyeballs up here!" and "Zip the lips!" (I'm seriously loving this substitute!) So I thought I'd try out those phrases today. But they just looked at me and said, "No, it doesn't work for you." That may be due partly to the fact that I couldn't say it without laughing. Ah well. They were better for me today too, so the day apart seemed to do us all good.

One quick story from today, though. I gave them their spelling test, and one student graced us with an ongoing commentary. I just went with it today instead of trying to stop it.
"Crumb. The bird ate the crumb off the table."
"A picnic table?"
"Yes."
"Oh, okay."

"Knife. He cut the turkey with a knife."
Gasp. "Was it alive?!"
"No!"

"Wriggle. Don't wriggle in your chair."
"Well I don't know what it means, so I guess I don't do it." (He's perhaps the worst wriggler in the class.)

Tomorrow we're off on a field trip for another adventurous day, I'm sure!

Rules, teeth, & duct tape

Today I was not at school, and I could only pray that my cherubs cooperated for their substitute! There's no telling what went on. Guess I'll find out tomorrow!

Earlier this week, I was reminding the class about the Golden Rule, which is posted in our room and is the basis for all our other rules. (They seem to be needing many reminders about that lately!) As I was talking, one boy blurted out, "What's the silver rule?" I ignored him and kept talking, only to hear him muttering, "And is there a bronze rule?" I pretended not to hear him, but maybe I should have used that as a teaching moment and we could've made up our own silver and bronze rules for the third grade. :)

At snack time one day, a girl walked up to me holding this tiny white piece in her hand and informed me it was part of her tooth. Greeeat.

A couple weeks ago I had a conversation with a boy about why it is not okay to put paper in your mouth in the middle of class (or any other time). I also had to remind him the other day that one of the school rules is no chewing gum. I'm pretty sure he didn't just forget, although he sure seemed surprised when I told him that. Anyway, yesterday I noticed him putting something in his mouth again, so I waited until after that class and pulled him aside.
I asked, "Were you eating paper in class?"
"No."
"Then what did you put in your mouth?"
"Duct tape."
"Duct tape?! Why would you put duct tape in your mouth?"
"Because I needed to throw it away, and you said I couldn't get out of my seat."

Sigh. My life will be so dull this summer. But right now I'm feeling ready for some dullness. :)