I am continuing to enjoy my class, and they are continuing to keep me on my toes!
I seem to give daily reminders about there being
no whistling in the classroom, to which I heard a student reply one time, "That is a terrifying rule."
Another rule I'm quite insistent about is washing our hands before lunch. One student sometimes thinks he can get away without it. Our conversation went like this one day:
"Billy, please wash your hands."
On his way back to his seat, I hear him muttering, "That's what I call washing your hands."
"Billy, did you use soap?"
"No."
"Please go back and use soap. That's what
I call washing your hands."
We all have been adjusting to the colder weather. Some have a harder time than others. One boy wore five sweatshirts one day, four layers another day, and on his way out to recess one time was trying to put a coat on top of a coat. He needed a little assistance. Later that day, there were three coats scattered all around his desk.
One student decided to clean out his backpack at the end of the day. Right after I asked him what he was doing, he pulled out a bag of moldy grapes from the side pocket. Amidst my exclamations of "Ew!" and "Gross!" he says "How did that get there? I don't remember putting them there!"
The students are doing a great job writing in complete sentences. However, if you were to read some of their writing, you might have a hard time deciphering some words. For example:
jmastexe
egl
draffe
junkell
Any guesses?
gymnastics
ankle
giraffe
jungle
They continue to ask questions that cause me to stop and think and/or scratch my head and admit I don't know and/or run to my laptop and scramble to find the answer.
As we read a book about Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii:
"If it's a volcano, couldn't they just see the hole in the top?"
"Are there people living close by now?"
"What if it erupts now?"
"How will people get away?"
As we read about plants in the science textbook:
"What about grass? Does it have roots?"
"What if there is a hole in the tree trunk? How does it get the nutrients it needs to stay alive?"
In social studies, we have been doing a chant with motions to help students remember people and vocabulary. To show that Cleopatra was married to Mark Antony, one boy suggested making a heart shape with both hands. 💓
The students' marble jar is steadily being filled. Some days I forget to give them marbles, even when they've been doing a great job. Lately, however, when I give them a couple marbles, they've been appealing for more, listing all the times throughout the day they did a good job. Most of the time, they convince me. :) I see a reward in the near future!
