Second-to-last Friday?

So today was a bipolar day... We had our "Student of the Month" assembly this morning, which was nice. Afterwards, I did some announcements with the class, and then we had some extra recess. I played "Horse" with some of the kids, and we had a blast! During their library/computer time, I called students out in groups of 2 (I chose my most hyper students, in hopes of depleting some of their energy) to come and shoot some hoops with me. Very enjoyable time, especially since it was about 70 out today! (Oh, how I love Arizona!!)

After specials, we did jumping jacks. We counted first by ones (to ten), then by twos (to 20), then threes (to 30), fours (to 40), fives (to 50), sixes (to 60), and tens (to 100). This totalled 70 jumping jacks, which wore me out. We took a stretching and water break, and then went through the regimen again. The students who *did* all 140 jumping jacks were exhausted; the rest were still full of energy. Oh, well. We then had our spelling and vocab tests (during which the counselor and his assistant came in to observe two students), and off to math the 5th graders went. I worked with the 4th graders on some review, and then it was time for lunch. All in all, a good, energetic morning.

The afternoon started out well; they came in and read silently for a while. Afterwards, we started science. During science and social studies, I have two boys who come in from a self-contained classroom, since it is in their IEP (individualized education program) that they attend these classes. One boy (who was ousted from my room early in the year) is particularly annoying. He sets off the whole class. He was said by others to have been cursing, and I heard him ask another boy, "Are you horny?" I immediately kicked him out, sent him back to his class, and his teacher marched him over to the principal. I love my job.

The class voted to use their EFT (earned free time) outside today- hallelujah!! They had earned a whopping 24 minutes this week, giving them a total of 39 minutes outside. After we finished science and social studies (which took a while, but we were only a few minutes late getting outside), we all went out. I played basketball with 5 students, and did sprinting drills with 6 others. It was tiring, but very enjoyable. I also swang on the swings and ran around for a bit.

At our recent after school staff meeting, our principal had informed us that we may no longer have recess at the end of the day. She reasoned that this is when students are getting pulled out of school, and when end-of-the-day announcements are occasionally made. Fooey. So now I have to have recess from 2:30-2:45, giving us half an hour at the end of the day which is generally a waste of time.

Today's after-recess time was wretched. I showed the class how to make paper snowflakes, which should have been a simple, enjoyable process. HOWEVER, the class was so wound up from our time outside (I'd thought they'd have been tired!!) that they could NOT stop talking. I told them they could whisper, but that talking was just too loud. They still persisted. I had to stop after EVERY single direction, and got super frustrated. Finally, I asked, "How many of you in here are thinking of ever being a teacher?" A surprising number of hands shot up. I chose two responsible students to be the teacher for a while, and I assumed the role of a student.

...

Chaos- utter chaos- broke loose. The kids were screaming at each other to shut up. Others chanted, "We want ice cream! We want ice cream!" Others were running around the room. Two students, fed up with the situation, walked out the door. The two overwhelmed "teachers" asked me if they had the power to give lunch detentions. I said that, yes, as teachers, they had that authority. They were nice: only 5 students received lunch detentions. I felt bad, though; they two "teachers" could NOT keep the class quiet. I had to step in after ten minutes and resume my role as teacher. It was amazing how quickly and quietly they pulled their act together. I love it. :P

The day ended with a silent clean-up, and the students stayed even after the buses were called to finish cleaning up. I love it. What a day!

After school, two students came in to hang out for a bit. I recruited them to help me hang the snowflakes from the ceiling. The classroom actually looks pretty festive right now. Another teacher and I joked that we were using child labor to make the classroom pretty. One of the students remarked, "But this is fun child labor!!" I asked if I could quote her, she agreed, and there is her comment.

On that note, I take my leave. I MUST be back here this weekend; my desks are a mess. Also, planning needs to be done. Next week the decision will be made as to where I'll be in a month. Stay tuned!