I haven't blogged in about a week. I'm not sure why I decided to stop. Ok, I know why...I just got lazy or made excuses and found other things to do. I have really enjoyed blogging and it's helped me with so many things this year but for some reason this week was just a lazy blogging week.
Munchkinville has slowly gotten better and my munchkins are coming along. They had their first individual Picture Day during the week but had to wear their uniform for this one. They get to dress up for their Spring pictures only. Either way they still looked cute! One munchkins made sure to tell me they showered especially for that day! haha ~I would hope so! Some probably just shower only on Sunday's! heehee I admit when I was little I hated to shower and there was a short time that Sunday's were the day! I know my mom didn't let that go for very long! Haha! Yes, I now shower daily!
During the week we went to visit our Computer Lab for the very first time and they loved it!! I'm fortunate to have in my classroom a workstation of computers (5) for the munchkins to use. I love technology and am always amazed at how much these little ones come in knowing about computers. Not very many of them have computers at home but they get to use the ones in the class & also in the lab every other week. I did have one little one cry when we were in the lab because he was afraid he wouldn't use it right or answer right. Of course I had to reassure him that it was ok if he didn't pick the correct answer. Poor baby, a perfectionist already!
We also had our first Early Release day. This is where students get dismissed half day and we stay for Professional Development. The morning was short because our Counselor put together an outdoor celebration with one of our Partner's in Education-Walmart. We were told to put together a song, dance, or skit, by grade level for that day...kinda like America's Got Talent. We weren't given any information as to what it was for or why we were doing it and that it "wasn't mandatory but greatly appreciated." You know what that means~we have to! It wasn't that we rebelled but we really never made the time to meet and come up with something. We're usually ok with doing silly things because the munchkins usually get a kick out of us making fools of ourselves, but this time...nada! Yikes! Other grade levels were saying they weren't doing anything...FIBBERS! I think the morning of we all felt the pressure of "wasn't mandatory but greatly appreciated." Thank goodness for our coach... he was singing a song he wrote to Love Me Tender by Elvis, yes, he wrote a song! Sheesh! Talk about taking this seriously...heehee! Actually it was a really good song about loving our school, faculty, kids, and community and teaching there for 33 years. Well, that morning when he told me about his song, I batted my eyelashes and asked if the four of us could be his Love Girls. Whew...he said yes! We had 30 minutes until it was time...eek! I raced to get red butcher paper and made big hearts, our prop! haha! The celebration actually turned out very nice and it was a surprise for us! Walmart was there to randomly draw names and give 10 teachers money! Nope, I wasn't one of them! Darn!! Most of the grade levels did very good acts or dances, we were saved for the end...yikes! The pressure to stand there and sway with a heart! haha! Thank goodness he let us join him, otherwise, we would have been the loser group not doing anything! haha!
The rest of this blog is about my "Jimmy."
As most of you read previously...there was a little run in with mom and most of you are probably dying to find out how that all went. I was ready for round two and had my inner Kung Fu Panda ready just incase. Administration was also ready to sit in with me. Well, at the last minute administration had something to attend to and the counselor was going to be late. In a way I was ok with that because mom didn't know they would all be sitting in. I figured I could defuse the situation if need be. Well, mom and grandma came with little brother and we sat in my room. It was like night and day and they were very calm and nice!! It might have been because she was warned by my principal or she'd be banned from the school. The counselor arrived while we were talking and I thought hell froze over with the looks they gave her! haha! Luckily it didn't get ugly at all and we were able to discuss her son. The fact that this is her first child in school made it was obvious that she is not aware of the school routine and that there are also rules for parents to follow. Some things she brought up of that frightful day weren't true at all, but I wasn't going to play a she said/she said...I much rather keep the peace and turned it back on her in a way and showed her some of his work. She was surprised to see what he could and couldn't do and YES I do teach during the day as she questioned prior. It all ended very well and she is happy to have him there at our school and with me! Yay! Whew! heehee!
It's been great to observe my "Jimmy" in what he says and does. He continues to speak in the third person and when I correct him on it and ask him to use "I" he does his little giggle instead. He also does this sound "Nyah, nyah, nyah" which reminds me of the old 3 Stooges shows. It's hilarious and I laugh inside. Actually, some of the kids have started to copy him and I admit I've done it back to him and he looked at me funny then laughed! One little boy tried talking in the third person but I quickly put a stop to that. The other munchkins are actually very kind, helpful, and very sweet to him. I think they can tell that some of the things he does are a little different but they take care of him and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've given them the talk of being kind to one another and especially to those who are different...I think they were actually listening! It warms my heart every time I see one of them helping him out. Don't get me wrong, he is very bright and does everything the others are doing, just from time to time they redirect him or show him how. It's very sweet and loving!
Something happened this week to "Jimmy" and I'm not sure what it was...but from one day to the next he's doing really, really well! He's doing better than some of the others! We have a morning message time and they copy what someone shared with the class in a journal, well his usually was in Kinder terms, pure scribble scrabble! Then the next day he said "Look at Jimmy's"....WOW!! ~Did he do it himself? or did the other munchkin do it for him??? Hmmm....~Very nice Jimmy, you did a beautiful job! Then it happened again the next day! What's going on?? Such a big difference! Guess what?....it happened every day after that and his pictures were now beginning to show more details and different colors. Yay!!!
Friday was probably my most precious day with "Jimmy." In the morning while he was working in his journal, he looked and seemed quieter than usual. Then he said, "Jimmy's sad" and put his head down. I asked him to come sit with me so we could chat. I asked him why he was sad and he said mom had gotten mad at him because she wanted him to wear the brown pants. I looked and he was wearing the blue pants...hmmm? I guess he won that battle?! haha Then I asked him why didn't he want to wear the brown pants and this smarty said...they weren't clean. Now how wonderful was that! I had given them the talk on coming to school clean and neat and he doesn't like to be dirty! I told him that sometimes mommies and daddies are rushing in the morning and sometimes they get mad but still love him and I was sure she would be ok with him when she picked him up. I asked him to give me a hug and oddly he came over but just rested his head on me and his arms to his side. I had to show him how to hug but he still did the same thing. The rest of the day it seemed like every 2 to 3 minutes he would come up to me wherever I was and put his head on me so that I would hug him! Awww.....his little deer eyes would just look up at me each time! My heart smiles!!
I hope his growth and transformation continues in the direction that it's been going. He just brings a smile to my face and heart. Something every classroom needs! Stay tuned....
XOXO's
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