Starting off the week with a new sense of being was and is so refreshing to say the least! My munchkins have been such sweet little boogers this week and I'm not sure why. I've also felt a sense of calmness and an appreciation for the smallest things. Is that what death does to you? Is it the calm before the storm or is it that we're all getting comfy and finding our groove in life and with each other?
The stress will begin to set in within the next few weeks if I allow it. Here we go again with testing our munchkins. One window of testing overlaps with another and another and by the time it's all over with, it'll be mid October. When will we teach??!! Well, we somehow work magic trying to juggle everything. For some strange reason I'm really not worried about the deadlines. It's not that I don't care but why create unnecessary stress. I can't explain why but after the emotional week I had last week, my perspective on things has been retweaked (is that even a word) haha!
Last week I forgot to mention we had parent information night. So sad to see the turnout for Kinder and 1st. The parents that did show up (6 only...boo!) I was glad to see. They were shocked with the information they received in reference to their children receiving actual grades now and how high their child needs to be reading when they leave 1st Grade. I think it was an eye opener for them as to where they child is at to where their child needs to be. One parent asked, almost in a way that came across a bit harsh~How do YOU plan on getting my child to such a high reading level? I have to admit I did giggle a little as I responded...~I plan on pushing your child because every child is capable of achieving that goal and it is possible but I'm also having YOU as the parent work with your own child at home. As parents you are your child's first teacher and this is a team effort between you, your child, and myself. Her ruffled feathers weren't so ruffled anymore. Heehee! Too bad I couldn't say...~So there! Nani nani boo boo! Yes, I'm picking up my munchkins habits or are they learning them from me?! J/K heehee Looping up with my munchkins from Kinder to 1st made some of my old parents think they didn't need to attend but once they receive their first progress report showing their child's grades they'll probably be the first ones to call in a panic. ~Can't wait! ;) I did have a call after the fact from an old parent and also new parent questioning ~Did I miss much? ~ UHHHHHH...yeah! is how I wanted to respond! One said they had football practice, the other cheerleading! ~HELLO!...school is a little more important! Now why can't they do No Pass, No Play for little leagues!! I'm completely for munchkins being in extra curricular activities but parents need to also make school a focus too.
The munchkins had a fun time using my digital camera on Monday. ~Yes, I let them use my own personal little camera! Yikes! The vocabulary word observe was introduced to them last week and I wanted to see (observe..heehee) what these little munchkins saw through a lens. Yes, photography my hidden passion. Whether I'm taking the pictures or viewing, I love to see special moments captured through the heart of a lens. I know... crazy to let 5 and 6 year old's take off with my camera! Their perspective on things and their height level is soooooo different than any adult and knew we'd all have fun with this. It worked out perfect that day because I had a few out so there were 5 groups of 3. I was going to send out one group at a time while the others completed their work. As we reviewed our word one little munchkin asked ~Is observing like our five senses when we use our eyes to see things? ~Kiss your brain! Good job! This got them all talking about their five senses which they covered some time back. ~Yay! They do remember something! haha! They wanted to take their pictures and tie them into their five senses...how could I say no. It actually worked out having 5 groups & 5 senses! I made one person from each group the photographer, one the timer, and one the tally person. I gave the little photographers a quick lesson on my camera and the rules! Main rule...~DON'T DROP MY CAMERA or you're fried chicken!!! haha They were instructed to wear it around their wrist at all times. I also taped it around their wrist so the strap wouldn't slip off! haha! I gave them a timer too because if I didn't...they'd be cruising the halls all day. They had to be back before the numbers hit zero and before it beeped. It was funny to see two groups make it into the class right as it went off! They practically slide into class as if it was home base. haha ~SAFE! One little boy, Mr. Blue Shoes, actually threw his team members under the bus as he slid into the class, alone, holding the timer as it went off. ~Hey where is the rest of your team? ~Ummm...They're somewhere, I wanted to make it in time. ~You can't leave your team out there! Go find them! Haha! The tally person was in charge to keep track of taking 5 pictures and practicing how to do tally marks. They didn't realize it was also a lesson too and not just having fun using my camera! heehee When all the groups were done I looked through the pictures and had to laugh at some. The group who was looking for things that they could hear...well...one of their pictures was taken of a urinal being flushed! Haha! One little one took a great picture of water from the water fountain and told me she ~Observed the water come out like the shape of a rainbow and she could see it, taste it, hear it, and touch it, but it smelled like nothing. ~Yay she used her new word and tied in her 5 senses. One group went to the cafeteria and took pictures of the foods they could taste. I was impressed with where some of them went to take pictures. They were told they could go anywhere in the school that wouldn't get them into trouble and outside in the back play area. They were so cute when they set out on their adventures I wish I had a picture of them but they had my camera! haha...one guarding the camera with their life, one focusing on the timer, and the other looking oh so important with their little clip board. Too cute! They were told that with the pictures I'll be showing them how we're going to add their voices as to what they observed on their adventure and turn it into a movie. They got so excited! I have to admit I was a slacker last year in Kinder and hardly made any movies with them. The years prior we always were making some type of movie.
Tomorrow will be 16th of September and our school always celebrates it and ties it into culture and traditions, which we do have to teach. We're all dressing up in our little senorita and senor outfits. Too bad Pancho's isn't still open, I could pick up an evening shift in my outfit and earn some tips on the Mexican plate or those ugly orange chile rellenos they made. haha! Those who do not wnat to dress up come in their uniform. When they dress up they always look so cute! I wanted to make sure they understood what it was and why we were letting them dress up. I had to explain living on the border, what a border was, where Mexico was, what the "grito" was, who Father Hidalgo was and his role. ~whew!!! These little monolinguals left probably knowing more Mexican history than I ever did at that age! I know it may have been a bit much but they actually understood it and enjoyed talking about it. One child also made the connection to our 4th of July! ~Yay! We made Papel Picado, which is just like making paper snowflakes but using colored tissue paper. As they were listening to me explain to the new munchkins how to fold the paper, one of my munchkins from last year, Mr. Blue Shoes, made me laugh when he said ~I remember that from the old days! If anyone knows my bark (my burst of laughter that comes out randomly)...I barked when I heard him. ~The "old days," how old are you? You're not THAT old silly! haha! I couldn't stop laughing and of course the munchkins started laughing too. Not because they understood why I was laughing but because I barked and laughter can be contagious! Tomorrow we'll be doing some other fun stuff as well. Then Friday is Constitution Day...did you know there was a Constitution Day?! haha! There is!
The week is flying by! ~Yup, Time flies when you're having fun! Next week is early release and professional development...uh oh...heehee Stay tuned for more of our adventures...
XOXO's
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