Calm and frustrated and all excited

I can tell summer is just around the corner. For one thing, the noise level has never been louder in my classroom (and I mean never, as in all five years I've been teaching). And then there are the sentimental little notes and gifts I keep receiving from students. Even though I'm still in school mode (because I see everything we still need to accomplish before the year is over, and I'm not quite ready to say good-bye!), some of my students are definitely on vacation mode.

This note was handed to me last week, with at least ten more days of school.

Apparently, this student is ready to start calling me by my first name now that she's almost done with third grade. :)

I'm touched by this creative poem from a student who would probably not claim to enjoy writing. (I'll do my best to translate it!)

Teachers are nice and some are scared of mice. :)
Some are mean. Sometimes they're grumpy, sad, or maybe they're mad.
They give rewards and they're disappointed.
They like and dislike.
They're calm and frustrated and they're all excited. 

Tomatoes, lions, and a dollar a day

The year is winding down to a close... only 12 more days of school this year! I have so many memories to cherish. This is just a snapshot of a few of them from the last week or so.

I feel so appreciated and loved. Not only do I receive gifts, but I am also regularly blessed with handwritten notes and pictures.

There is nothing like reading a nine-year-old's writing. (I have come to realize through conferencing with students on their writing projects that sometimes I am better at deciphering their writing than they are!)

When asked to write about an Easter memory:

When I was about five I tried a tomato my first time (I was forced). I threw it against the wall after I took a bite. It almost hit my grandma.

After reading the story of Daniel and the lions' den, the students were asked: What "lions" can the Lord deliver you from?

• school work 
• thunderstorms
• going to bed 
• For Social Studies because I sometimes get stuck on a question. 
• brothers and sisters 

And definitely my favorite:

• Making a yes answer to a boy of marrying me. 

And we have a new, revised quote, as one of my students proclaimed one day: "A dollar a day keeps the doctor away!"

So he sat

Time is ticking away. I cannot believe it, but we only have half a quarter left of this school year!

I'll share a few of the highlights that I've managed to remember from the last month of school.

On one reading worksheet, the students had to write sentences using vocabulary words. I told them that their sentences should show me that they understand the meaning of the word, so they shouldn't write something like, "I like pastures." One girl wrote "I love the pasture." Another wrote "I like peeing. Do you?" Unfortunately, she misspelled peering. One student got creative: "The man's mustache quivered as he walked."

Students often like to share with their classmates at lunchtime. One day one of the girls was sharing about her cat. One of the boys asked her if she shot her cat. Looking absolutely shocked and dismayed, she gasped and exclaimed, "No!" The boy then proceeded to say that he's not fond of cats and other things that shocked the girls.

Last week we had roadside cleanup, when we go out in groups to clean up trash along the sides of roads as a fundraiser. In science a couple days before, we were learning about work. I said, "I'm sure some of you will tell me that roadside cleanup was a lot of work!" They loudly insisted that it would not be work, because there was no school work, and it was going to be so much fun. I just smiled and said, "Okay, we'll see."

I had three sweet girls in my group. We had a great day, but some of the comments I heard were:

"My bag is heavy!" and then another girl whispering, "Don't complain!"
"My feet hurt... but I'm having fun!"
"This is a little bit of work."

We had the pleasure of working on a road where a manure truck was making many trips back and forth. After the first couple times, the girls came up with a way to combat the smell. They yelled, "Cannon ball!", turned around, and curled up against the ground until the truck was past. I'm sure the driver was entertained.

The reward for making our fundraising goal is a half a day off school the next day. One of the boys kept insisting until the very end that he didn't want a half day off school. He changed his mind the next day though. :)

One morning this week I saw a girl carrying into the classroom a bottle of glue and a tube of glitter. Red flags and warning bells. "What are you planning on doing with that?" She replied that she wanted to make bookmarks. I was imagining glitter all over the classroom and suggested a time when she could do it, but not during class time!

I know I don't hear all the little comments that students make, and most of the time that's a good thing. But this one I caught, and although I ignored the student, I smiled inside. I was reading a book about Benjamin Franklin, and it said, "And Franklin could stand it no longer." And one of the boys commented, "So he sat."

Childlike simplicity

We can probably all use a dose of good, childlike simplicity from time to time. 

A couple of days ago, I was reading a story with the class, and it said a man "lost his bearings." Just to make sure they understood what happened, I asked what it meant. I soon realized they had no idea. They thought it meant he lost all his stuff, or that he lost his common sense, or that he got really mad. 

A conversation I overheard: 

Girl: My mom is pregnant!

Boy: When is her due date?

Girl: I don’t know… It’s either a boy or a girl.

A couple of days before the first day of spring, I asked the students to write in their journals. 

How can you tell spring is almost here?

“I know spring is almost here because I saw it on the calendar.”

What is your least favorite part about spring? 

“Parents and teachers make you keep coats on when it’s warm. :(”

“I’m tired of snow but I still want a blizzard this year.” 

Grandparents are for...

We've been preparing for Grandparents' Day next week. I read the stories "Grandpas Are For Finding Worms" and "Grandmas Are For Giving Tickles" by Harriet Ziefert. Then I had the students write their own paragraphs about their grandparents. I think they turned out pretty great! I picked out a few highlights to share with you.

Grandmas are for…
giving you a picnic in summer. 
baking good cookies.
letting you sit on their lap whenever you want.
happy times.
taking you places with your cousins.

Grandmas let you lick the spoon. 
Grandma lets you stay up late. 

Grandpas are for…
letting you use his back scratcher.
giving $20 on birthdays.
giving you kisses that tickle. 
taking naps.
wearing glasses.
sometimes coming home late for supper.
giving gum.

Grandpas are smart and have a lot of stuff. 
They let you have Tic-Tacs. 
Grandpas give you tons of snacks. 
Grandpas pick on you sometimes. 
Grandpas make grandmas happy. 

Most of all, grandpas/grandmas are for…
being grandpas
loving you
hugging 
fun
candy 

Entrepreneurs

I love my students. Sometimes they can be so cute, although I won't tell them that or they'd be embarrassed.

We've been learning about economics in social studies, and I told them I think some of them could be entrepreneurs someday.

That afternoon I saw signs like this one begin popping up all over the classroom:

One sign said, "Closed. Now hiring."

They're working together too. One boy's sign read, "Pencils for sale! See Johnny for papers."

Johnny's said, "Paper for sale $0.00"

One girl ran out of her pencil supply (high demand, I suppose, since they were free) and her sign the next day read, "Sorry closed! Good bye!"

On Monday I plan on asking some questions about profit.

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.