Let Go

Finding Zen...

This year has been a year of finding Zen in munchkinville. The last blog was during a low trying couple of months and finally I've found my place again.

Valentine's Day came with love in the air but it quickly vanished. The munchkins had a great time passing out their Valentine's Day cards and shoving into their little bellies cookies, candies, cupcakes...oh my! I'm lucky no one threw up! heehee


Valentine's Day fell on the 100th Day of School...that being said, it was a pretty wacky day! The snow days pushed the 100th Day to Valentine's Day. It was wacky but fun and it flew by. The munchkins got a kick out of wearing their 100th Day hat, doing 100 exercises in the classroom, eating 100 Cheerios, playing the 100 second quiet game, and YOGA! ~Yes, I said yoga! To get them to do the 100 second quiet game I had them all sit on the rug, since they already were sitting criss cross, I thought ~hmmm...bring some of my yoga class (KungFu Fusion) into the mix and see if it works with these little ones. I briefly explained what yoga was and was surprised to see a few of them already knew what it was and started to pretend to chant ~ohm! haha So of course I went with it and told them..~ Close your eyes, rest your hands on your knees, block everything out (especially the loud class next door..heehe), try to be as still and quiet as can be.... ~Breathe in, breathe out. My oh my did it get silent really quick... they all looked like little monks sitting in the dark. heehee Of course I couldn't stop there...~Who can show me an upside down letter V using their body? Little bodies started popping up from the rug and bending to make the letter V. One did it, then they all wanted space on the rug to show they could do it too. :) I did a few more poses with them and they did great. I think I've created little yoga munchkins because they ask me ~Are we going to do yoga today? heehee


The school Science Fair last week was fun for the munchkins. It was cute to see them get up and explain their projects. Yes, mom and dad usually do everything but most of these munchkins knew their projects and loved doing them. Four munchkins were picked from our class and out of those four, two won 1st place in their respective categories and they were both girls! Yay!!


Talking about yoga...today as a matter of fact was when they asked for it the most. It was TAKS day for the 4th Graders so that meant we were on lock down mode. Meaning the entire school is placed on mute..haha, no lunch recess, we eat with our munchkins, no PE, and group restroom breaks...ugh! We did make it through the day though without anyone digging their way out or escaping through a window...ok, so maybe I tried once! heehee It was a very long day. They kept asking if it was yoga time...haha had to giggle at their request but had to push it off for another day because we were getting our Dr Seuss hats ready for tomorrow. My favorite time of year....Dr Seuss's Birthday and spring is right around the corner!!!

In regards to my munchkin and his mother who have created havoc since day one...well, I made a pack with myself to release it a "let go" (which I learned in my own yoga class recently...thanks V!!). Not to waste anymore energy on it, I will try and sum it all up in 3 sentences or less. haha Munchkin suspended once again, mom created uproar, child lied about another teacher, police involved, worse day ever, things turned out ok, realized I need to end this and protect myself, pulled my trump card out, which in 13 years have never thought I'd use, stood my ground, requested munchkin out...breaks my heart but I've done everything possible and now I'm letting go. For a moment I felt like I failed. Such an awful feeling...failure! I thought I could crack his disruptive behavior, help him learn to make right choices, and feel compassion...but I couldn't. I know it's not all his fault but it's hard to see how it's evolved from what has been learned at home. In my brief moment of feeling as if I failed, I was also reminded of the crazy drama/lies that happened last week = major eye opener! While sitting during yoga I learned to "let go" to all things I cannot fix. Somewhat like the Serenity prayer ~God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. I've accepted and I've found the courage to let go. I do hope and pray he learns to make some better choices and mom learns she's doing more harm than good. Ok, so I went a wee bit longer than 3 sentences...haha

Finding Zen...do we ever find it? Especially as a teacher, as a student, as a person? It's not an easy process but I think slowly we make small steps toward it each time we breathe in and let go of those things we cannot control. I see the light at the end of the tunnel...but I'm not ready to run toward it. haha I'm ready to get back to my munchkins and just breathe.
Stick around for future adventures...
XOXO's

CRAP!

Ho, hum...

It's been almost exactly a month since I last blogged about Munchkinville. I've sat down to write but then shut it down on more than one occasion. The excitement that I started out the year with totally has fizzled. My last blog was the last straw that broke this camel's back! For whatever reason I allowed it to really bring me down about a lot of things in this career.

The classroom dynamics is ...how can I describe it...blech! So many good and not so good things have happened within the last month. The bullying problem is UNBELIEVABLE and they're only 6 and 7 years old!!!! I know it's my responsibility to change those dynamics in the classroom but after awhile...ugh! Mr. Eyeball Roller is going to drive me to quit any day now! Within the month of my blogging absence, he's been suspended for fighting in PE, mom came to complain about me, spends days in lunch detention for behavior issues, and recently bullied a new student, which means 5 more days of detention. I know as a teacher I have a right to get him out of my classroom. ~Yes, folks there is an actual Texas Educational code...it's Code Chapter 37 Sec. 37.002. Removal by Teacher... http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/ED/htm/ED.37.htm
This allows a teacher to remove a student from their classroom permanently. They must have documented evidence to show a student fits under certain criteria and that child must be then removed and placed somewhere else. I haven't pulled out that trump card yet because I know it's not all his fault and underneath all the crap he pulls and does...I like him! Yes, I said crap...haha These are the times I wish I wasn't so nice because HE IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!! Don't get me wrong I'm mean when I have to be but keep giving or hoping Mr. Eye Roller will change! What happened to swats in school??!! ~I know with one good one he'd be an angel! haha ~Who am I kidding! As I mentioned in another post he is SO his mother's child and that's the biggest problem. Our school was warned by his previous district to watch out for her and boy did I get a good one this past month! I mentioned he was suspended for fighting in PE...well, the next day mom comes to complain about me and wants a conference with administration, her son, and myself. ~What?!! I didn't suspend him! I didn't even report the incident. The coach took him into the office and also had had it with him so why was I being targeted? Oh, I know...the coach was already targeted the first month this child arrived! We met with my Assistant Principal and I've got to say she's amazing and has a skill to deal with these parents! That's why she does what she does and I will never aspire to be an administrator! The little wanna be ghetto side in me wanted to crawl over the table and practice some of my new Kung Fu moves on this woman...but instead I sat back and listened to how her son does no wrong. At one point of the conference I had it and just said ~If you are so unhappy with me and having your child in my classroom there are other options, other teachers, and other schools you can take him to! I thought...~Oh crap, (yup said crap again...heehee) my admin is going to say something to me for that...nope, she let me continue to speak and boy did I. Mom cried about her personal issues and her tune changed and did acknowledge that he has learned a lot in my class and she knows I'm a good teacher. For one wee little second I felt sorry for her...but then I slapped myself back into reality...sheesh! look around girlfriend you were called into the principal's office! Ugh! The conference ended with her smiling and thanking me. I was more confused then content! ~Ay the drama! Dislike!!!
I thought after all of that he would be trying to behave better...~I'm still waiting! haha

Enough of that crap! Just loving that word tonight! haha! I've graduated from using the word poopie! haha

Something that helped get over the low was a small speech our Area Associate Superintendent gave us during an inservice we had. It wasn't a speech but more of a pep talk and it was something that I needed to hear right at that moment. The funny thing is... this Area Super is actually a personal friend from high school who was a total rocker back in the day (not sure why I had to out him on that but I just did..haha) what he had to say that day truly struck a cord and his appreciation for us and our valley schools was great to hear. When he was done, I almost held up my rocker hands \m/ \m/ to yell ~Yeah! You rock! haha

I'll skip over a lot of the crap (there's that word again...heehee) just so I won't relive it again and let it be. Teaching has been going on in between the discipline down time even if I feel like all I do is discipline the same ones all day. Within the last 30 days we've done the typical pumpkin activities, Red Ribbon week, had our own Halloween dance in the class since I was out for their real one, and had a visit from a wonderful man Mr. Jose Luis Orozco.

We also covered soil as a natural resource some time back and as a fun closer we brought in earth worms. It was hilarious! I had them close their eyes, to my surprise no one peeked! I placed an earth worm in the middle of each group with some of the soil they came in and once they opened their eyes they squealed! ~The munchkins squealed not the worms! haha ~Ewwwww! It's alive! It's moving! I don't want to touch it! ~Ok that was me saying that! haha J/K...I did have to pretend to be tough and grab the worms so they would place them in their hands. Inside though, I was ready to fling that worm the minute I touched it across the room. ~Stay calm, the kids are watching! ~Eeeeeeee! That was my silent scream as I did it! haha One little girl did not want to come close to it but the meanie that I am made her. ~If I had to hold one of those squirmy creatures, she would too! haha I think we both almost passed out together, but she did it! haha! Little by little they all got braver and braver but you could still see their faces cringe as they held the worm in their hands! I video taped a few that I'll try to post! Funny stuff!


The munchkins are getting stronger in all areas. They love everything, probably because I love it all too! They had their first Student-Led conference and they were amazing! Love Student-Led conferences! Our school has been doing them for awhile now and even our little ones can do them and it's fun to watch! Student-Led conferences are done by the student and the teacher just monitors or in my case...takes pictures! The munchkins are held accountable for explaining to their parents their grades on their report card, showing them their work, explaining their behavior, and teaching their parent something they've learned. It took us about a full day to organize everything and practice, practice, practice. The cutest thing to see is when they pull out a low grade piece of work and see parents faces cringe but when the munchkins explains why they received the grade they did and how they can improve it their parents can't stay mad! Then they pull out their little 100's with pride! The munchkins were so nervous and parents were surprised at how well they took ownership and how well they explained everything! Yay, my little munchkins are growing up! I asked parents to write a positive note to their munchkin about the conference and send it in the following day. I read the notes to the class then placed them on a poster with their picture and their parent. The munchkins loved to hear what their parent wrote and what the other parents wrote. I should clarify... those that showed up...yes, Mr. Eye Roller and his mom were a no show and two others. Boo! Go figure!


So proud of my little munchkins who are getting stronger and stronger. Now it's my turn to prove myself! ~Yup, it's evaluation time! Eeeek! We get evaluated every three years and it's my year! Holy Moly Guacamole!! Crap! Crap! Crap! Ok, I just felt like throwing in some crap..haha!
This Thursday is when I'll be crapping in my pants! heehee Eeew! I've been super nervous for about two weeks and my face shows it!!! Yes, I have what looks like.. the volcano Mauna Loa near my chin! I never had this problem in high school, why as an adult?! ~Oh yeah, STRESS!!! Where's the wine or whine?! haha I may throw up when it's all over and done with!
Stay tuned for our next little adventure...I'm sure it'll be a doozie and not so much CRAP! heehee
XOXO's

True at Heart

True at heart...are we really?

At what age do we really begin to learn to be true friends, honest in character, and kindhearted to one another?

Are we born with these traits already? Are they switches waiting to be flicked on? Do our experiences hinder them or are these traits strengthened because of our experiences? Based on events in our lives is this when we begin to realize these things about ourselves and others?

So many questions yet not many answers. We go through a rollercoaster of good and bad things in our lifetime, do those events change who we've been or want to become? Friendships, love, & death are all unavoidable but can we truly understand why we react to them as we do and when did we learn how to react to these life events?

At 5, 15, 45, or even 65, do we really understand? We do become wiser with age...~sometimes! At what age or what event/events made you stop and look around to see who your true friends are? At what age did you realize love is within you and all around you whether alone or with a significant other? At what age did you realize death is painful yet peaceful? Many of these questions I think we're all still trying to answer and will continue to answer.

In the classroom, teaching the munchkins to be kindhearted, compassionate, and loving to one another is one of the greater tasks of this job. It may not be written in my job description or curriculum but it's one of the most difficult tasks to teach. Parents are a child's first teacher and if their home environment lacks love, kindheartedness, and compassion, they too will lack in these areas. As a teacher, it's our job to fill in some of those missing areas and teach these munchkins to become well rounded loving beings. I think this is why I love to teach these little souls but I wish there was an easy way for them to understand these things in order to avoid the pain that may come with them. I would tightly roll these traits up in a ball and like blowing dandelions in the wind, I'd blow these traits into each little munchkin's heart! Sounds so easy to do...~Make a wish and blow.

My munchkins are going through what I'm calling some ugly times right now. I blamed the weather, I've looked at myself to ask what role do I play in this, and I've even thought it was an issue for some because they're "new" to our class. I'm not sure the reason but it's gotten to the point where it's disheartening. It's a true fact that kids can be mean!! Is it because of their innocence they speak their minds and we as adults have learned to think before we speak? ~Well, SOME adults think before they speak. ;)

With every new batch of munchkins that I pick up in Kinder, I stress so much to take care of one another in our class because they can remain friends with each other for a lifetime. I want them to have fond memories of one another and not the ugly bullying/name calling events. I can still remember back to Kinder at Edgemere and the name of my "best friend"... Adrienne. I then was switched to Catholic school and was so sad. To this day I'm clueless what happened to her. I had to learn to make new friends and I did...Laura, Daniel, Arthur, Joey, Susana, Richard..etc. Then back to public school, I was crushed again to leave and more friends had to be made back at Edgemere again...Patsy, Eunice, Rick, Ruben, Marcella, Crystal, Dwayne, Michelle, etc. Throughout our lifetime we make friends and build on those relationships. Not all friendships survive but those that do are truly valued. People are put into our life for a reason, some good and some bad. I also remember the names of the not so nice kids who were mean...from Kinder up to the adults who are still mean and probably were mean kids. Being always so tall, lanky, braces, glasses, and having a weird name wasn't the best at times. The name calling you learned to take or laugh it off but they did leave a lasting sting to the soul. Self esteem?... What's that? Still to this day I do not take compliments well at all. Are they sincere? Maybe or maybe not?
A part of me will always be metal mouth, 4 eyes, bean pole with a strange name but I've learned to accept this. I've grown to love my name and it's meaning, love my height in a town of shorties, braces do wonders and yes still 4 eyes...haha! It took me almost a lifetime to understand so as a teacher it may take me a lifetime to teach this to these little souls.

Stressing love, compassion, kindness, to a classroom of 1st Grade minds now is so, so, so, difficult. Some may comprehend but others will be clueless until their soul is stung. The munchkins who have been exhibiting ugliness to the others all have different situations going on in their life. Do we as teachers say ~oh pobrecita/pobrecito that explains it. Sorry, NO! I just won't tolerate it. Four students, two new ones and two old ones are my "bullies." It's also so sad that some parents turn around and blame others when the recurring events have been with their child.

To see little ones cry because ~he/she won't be my friend, is heartbreaking. Is this a preparation to later events in life when those lasting bonds you've made begin to end? ~We're all friends in this classroom! Now blue bow go hug red shoes and stop this silliness and apologize for what you said. ~I'm sorry, you're my friend now and always. ~That's ok. As they skip off into the sun together...is it that easy? For now it is.

You would think bullies are only boys...nope! ~Not in my room! Two of mine are girls. One was suspended. ~Yes, you heard me right...suspended! She took it upon herself to beat up on a little boy from another classroom. Boy did she do a number on him! When I asked her ~What the flip flappin did you do that and what the flip flappin were you thinking?...ok, no I didn't ask that but I thought it! ~What happened? ~He was bothering me? ~What was he doing? Silence set in...tick, tock, tick, tock. ~I'm waiting?! ~He kicked me. ~Hmmm...was she telling the truth? I've only had her a month so I wasn't sure about her. The other little boy from the other class I knew from last year and he was always an angel but this is this year. I got both of them together and asked him this time. ~What happened? ~She came up to me and started hitting and scratching me then she kicked me. ~Hmmmm.... When do we learn to be dishonest? Is it lies to protect or to hurt? Either way we've learned to lie. ~Everyone knows Ms. Buddé does not like lying. It's better to tell me the truth than lie. Silence set in again...~cricket, cricket, cricket. The other teacher swooped them both and was sending them to the office and writing a referral. We're all a bit frustrated with the bullying that's going on. Little Miss Bully returned to the class and when I asked if she spoke to anyone she said no, no one was in the office. ~I'm going to ask you one last time...what happened? Did he really bother you? Silence with the eyes wandering around and looking up to the ceiling. Then her head shook no. I thought so..so instead of losing it or raising my voice I thanked her for telling the truth but did tell her...~do you understand what you did is going to get you into a lot of trouble? ~yes ma'am. Later in the day administration came to speak to her...~oooo mama, mama! Time passed in our day and when she returned I was informed she admitted that she just decided to hit, scratch and hit him and she was suspended. This lead into a great teachable moment to explain to the entire class what suspended meant and of course I was agitated with the others behavior and looked around and said ~Who's next?!

A parent after school approached me that her daughter is being bullied by another girl! I wanted to scream! Miss Bully #2 is going around telling other girls not to play with her daughter because she is new and telling her daughter she can't play with them. Jealousy into the mix now too?! That Miss Thang is going to be sitting in lunch detention, alone, watching them all play together. Will she be one of those mean girls in middle school and high school? If I have anything to do with it now, she better not!

We go through life with people coming and going. Each one of them has a reason they've come into our lives, it's just understanding what that reason is. Can we learn that at age 5 or 6, probably not. Can we learn that as adults? Maybe. I've learned to value every soul that's touch mine over the years whether they're near or far, new or old and love them all. I've had to let go too of those that are no longer a part of my world because of the choices they've made. I can only hope my little munchkins learn to have loving, kind, honest hearts, now and always.

Stay tuned hopefully for better adventures in bullyland...I mean munchkinland. ;)
XOXO's

A Fine Frenzy...or just a frenzy!

A Frenzy kind of day!
I wish I could say the day was as angelic as the voice of Alison Sudol, lead singer of the group A Fine Frenzy. Is there Hope for the Hopeless, as their song says?? The day wasn't angelic at all...it was far from it...quite the opposite!

fren·zy

/ˈfrɛnzi/ Show Spelled [fren-zee] Show IPA noun, plural -zies, verb, -zied, -zy·ing.

–noun

1.extreme mental agitation; wild excitement or derangement.

2.a fit or spell of violent mental excitement; a paroxysm characteristic of or resulting from a mania: He is subject to these frenzies several times a year.

–verb (used with object)

3.to drive to frenzy; make frantic: She was frenzied by fear when she smelled the smoke.

If I was to pick...I would have to say today was #3... to drive to frenzy; make frantic! Hmm....what name shall I give this child to protect the innocent...innocent my tooshie! He's a new little munchkin and his name in the blog will be....hmmm...Eyeballs! I allowed this child, I mean...Mr. Eyeballs to drive me to a frenzy! It started off yesterday... received an email from another parent stated Mr. Eyeballs hurt their daughter. Dealt with that, so I thought! Today he started off with some small little things that I put a stop to and on the back burner but what took the cake was the back talk and when I would speak to him he would roll his eyes at me and turn his face. ~I'm not listening to you! lalalala It got worse and worse and the day progressed, then he wouldn't do any work. In trying to redirect him the eye rolling continued and this is when you could see the other kids notice and have looks of shock and they kept looking at me as if they were thinking ~ooooOOO mama mama he's going to get it! Instead, the kids stepped in and in a way tried to regain their classroom from him by telling him ~You better stop that, you're being mean to Ms. Buddé. ~ We don't act like that. ~Ms. Buddé he's making faces and whispering things about you. Something about this child just got under my skin and he always has this smirk on his face when he looks at you as if he's thinking ~What?! What are you going to do?! I remembered my volcanic day last week and did not want to go there. Inside though, I was fuming each time those eyeballs rolled back!! At that moment I had a flashback to when I was little and we would make ugly or silly faces and my mom would tell us to stop or our face would stay that way...hmm...would Mr. Eyeballs eyeballs stay rolled back? Imagine?! I could hear my mom say ~Andale! Translated... basically saying...See! That's what you get! Heehee! ~Nope! Eyeballs didn't stay that way, they continued to roll back even more so! I was about to lose it and one of my babies knew it, well they all could tell, but they were sooooooo sweet and one of them just at the right moment came up and gave me a hug. ~Awww...I needed that! I thought ~why the bejeebers am I putting up with this?! Instead of sending him to the office, which I rarely do because I'd rather deal with my own discipline or usually don't have anything that severe, I sent him to another colleague. We usually do this from time to time and it usually helps. They usually realize they have it much better in their own classroom then where they were sent to. After so much time was taken away from instruction, I was able to get back on track. I lost so much, not so much in the time wasted but the I lost so much of myself. If that makes any sense. After school mom was wanting to take him....~Just a minute...I need to speak to you! As I made sure all my munchkins left with their parent I could see from the corner of my eye she was interrogating him. Mind you, I've had some problems with her too which I stopped immediately but knew this would probably ruffle her feathers. I explained to her all that he had done and the email from the other parent and to my surprise said she would take care of it. ~Hmmm....would she? Or tomorrow will I receive a nasty note...guess we'll have to wait and see!

Last week we had some inservices and all I can say is that sitting in a chair all day is more draining than dealing with a classroom full of munchkins. We spent almost all of Friday with a new Science facilitator that the district sent to our campus. She actually was great and we had a good time with her.

Some better news around the campus....babies!!! There might be something in the water at our school because another teacher is expecting a little blessing! So far that's 5. One had hers last year, one last month, one due on New Year's, and two due in May. Yikes!!

Short post today due to lack of umph...or in adult terms motivation. ~"Trying to be what they need but I’m so very tired."~lyric from Whisper by A Fine Frenzy. I allowed Mr. Eyeballs to get to me and I sit and wonder...~Why do I do this? and in the same breath try to remind myself...why I do, do this. (yes, remove the comma and it says do do...as in poop, crap, caca, etc. Sometimes it feels like it's a bunch of poop, what we have to put up with!) I can't let one sour grape ruin the rest of the bunch. ~Hmmm...grapes=wine...maybe I just need some wine to stop whining and a little bit of A Fine Frenzy to remind myself how angelic most of these munchkins can be and truly are.
Stay tuned to more adventures filled with a bit more motivation and excitement...
XOXO's

Viva!!

What a day!

What a crazy, bonkers, fun day! I'm not sure if I was on a high on life thingy the last couple of days, but I just hit the wall! ~No not literally. Even though I wouldn't put that past me...running into things from time to time has been known to happen! haha! ~I'M POOPED!

The kids were adorable in their outfits! As much as I make fun of my Rosarita dress, I love wearing it because it's like I'm walking around in a tent! So comfy just like a Hawaiian muumuu dress! I can let the gut and lonjas hang out and no one can tell! haha! Our day was nonstop and I'm exhausted! It didn't help that I couldn't sleep last night...finally fell asleep around 2:45 then up at 5:00. Eeek!


We revisited our discussion from yesterday on 16th of September and they asked if they could record themselves. ~Yikes, I think I created little video and photog monsters...heehee! Love it! Surprisingly they did very well remembering the information we covered and using the camera. ~Even if I was watching them like a hawk as they used my camera. Heehee! I think next time I'll check out one of the school's cameras but it may not have charged batteries or no memory card. So far they've taken care of mine...so I may continue to let them use it. I only took over the camera when they wanted to dance, if not, they really would have been bouncing around and my camera may have been shot across the room! ;)

As the munchkins were lining up for lunch I was doing who knows what and overheard part of a conversation between some munchkins and I had to laugh! ~Well, I had to keep in the laughter because I didn't want to make anyone feel bad. A group of them were talking as they were lining up and I heard a little girl, who was in a beautiful white outfit say ~My sister said I looked like a maid! ~BAHhaha! It was so hard not to laugh but I held it in. I stayed around their area to continue to listen to what their conversation was about. My little Blue Shoe boy from last year was soooo sweet and told her...~You don't look like a maid, you look pretty! All the girls look pretty, no one is a maid in here. Ms. Buddé even says she's not our maid! ~BAHAHAH! He got me on that one!!! I had to laugh at that out loud because I do tell them they have to clean up for themselves and we don't have a maid in the classroom and I'm not their maid either. Haha!! From out of the mouths of babes! Heehee They make me laugh more and more and make this adventure so much more enjoyable!

It was also Grandparents luncheon day today. The cafeteria was full of munchkins and their grandparents enjoying lunch together. The sound of mariachi music, smell of fajitas, and a decorated cafeteria added to the smiles not only on the munchkins but also on their grandparents faces.

I had promised them I would make them quesadillas but after PE and after sitting through a fundraiser kickoff, I was loosing energy fast!!! I had about an hour left in the day and we (the other girls and myself) decided we'd just do it tomorrow....but then I felt bad and put that Rosarita dress to work! A few parents had sent in some pan dulce, Mexican cookies, and Mexican candies, so I HAD to do it. How could I not! As I jumped into my Mexican senorita role I got them busy doing some work and pulled out the portable burner, grabbed the corn tortillas, spatula, and started to cut the cheese. ~No, no, not that cheese! heehee I'm sure many of them were already doing that from the fajitas at lunch! haha Pee eww! I had to remind them...~No one is allowed up here at all while I'm cooking! I wasn't sure if I'd make it on time to finish making them all a quesadilla, pass out the pan dulce, cookies, and candy. I totally channeled my inner Rosarita and totally looked the part too! haha Sitting on my stool, in my Rosarita dress, hair pinned up, and cooking over a hot stove. Well, not a stove but a hot little burner..haha! It reminded me of watching my grandmother cook for us. I also felt like one of the lady's at the bazaar making gorditas except I was throwing out quesadillas like a mad woman! haha!! The natives started to get restless once they finished their work. As it is, when they are out of uniform they go bonkers so this was a double dose of bonkerness (again, I'm making up words! haha) They wanted to dance so I let them dance. Turned up the Mexican music and they had their own little party on the rug! It was cute because my munchkins from last year are comfortable dancing with each other so the boys grabbed their partner and started spinning them away! The new little ones were a bit shy but they got over it pretty fast.

Once I finished and plated everything...ok wait, that sounds like I'm on a Food Network show..."plated"...haha I meant to say once I threw everything onto the plain white paper plates they still we tortured for a few more minutes. My old babies already know...~We don't touch or eat anything until everyone is served! The poor new babies were twitching and salivating as they waited to dig in because my waitress skills were a little rusty and slow.

Finally when they started to dig in I sat down and took a breath! ~Holy Moly Guacamole! I was beat!! ~Mmmmm....this is good!, I like these things! Can you make more? ............insert screeching tire sound....~More?? I'm sorry Rosaritas Restaurant is CLOSED! They laughed and I took another breath! ~Whew!
Stay tuned for more adventures...
XOXO's

Flip Flappin Frustrating!!

Did I mention it was Flip Flappin Frustrating day!!

Week 2 didn't start off too bad until Wednesday! I waited a day to blog...I needed to breathe and count to 100...not to 10! Otherwise my potty mouth would have added too much color to this page. Every other word would have been bleep, bleep, bleep, bleepity, BLEEP!

It was a flip flappin frustrating day on Wednesday! Yes, those are my "f" bombs! haha! Teaching 13 years and in those 13 years I've learned to love looping when we get the chance to do it. Well this week I've changed my mind! ~I'M NOT LIKING IT!!!!! If you don't loop with your entire class then what's the point in looping?! Why did my munchkins move? ~Whah!!

I was sent ANOTHER new student and I think that's what threw me overboard!! ~Or did I just jump overboard? hmmm... At that moment if someone would have thrown me a life preserver to get back on board I think I would have pretended not to see it and go swim with the dolphins or better yet...eaten by a shark! heehee!

10 new munchkins!!! ~Holy moly ROTTEN guacamole!! Getting the new student wasn't the kicker...assessing her quickly to check what she's coming in with was the push over the railing for me!!! Another munchkin who is SUPER DUPER low! I've had low 1st Graders before and I bust my booty and can get them to 2nd or higher but these particular students are at a beginning Kinder and mid Kinder level!!! ~AHHHHHHHH!!!!! What the, what the!!! As I pound my head on my table!!

If you chose to have baby munchkins...YOU, the PARENT, are their 1st teacher!!!!!!!! Talk to your child, sit and read with your child, DISCIPLINE your child...blah, blah, blah! AHHHHH! Ok, sorry...breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out! heehee
It seems like some babies are coming in lower and lower than in past years and it's frustrating. When we loop, the low ones that come with me always make it because they're not THAT low...probably because I'm on them and on their parents to work with their munchkins. There is always one or two who still don't give a flippity flap! Those are the ones whose grades begin to drop and when they fail that's when parents decide to show an interest in their child. ~Oh NOW you decide to show up to school, as you rant and rave as to why your child failed! The last group of munchkins that we looped with for 3 years, K-2, was an incredible experience. Last year they went to 3rd without me and EVERY child passed the darn TAKS! I'm not one to toot my own horn but TOOT, TOOT! They had a strong foundation and their parents were awesome!

Kindergarten is not mandatory in Texas so we can't automatically retain...I know, I know, some are saying...but they're so little to be retained! Pish Posh! That's exactly the point...it's not retaining because of "failure" as we're so familiar with but being kept another year because they need more time to build on that foundation. A strong foundation is the root to their ENTIRE educational years. Would contractors build on weak or cracked foundations? Many do because they have a deadline or just want to get paid but those are the structures that will have problems for many years to come! I've been lucky to have administration that support repeating Kinder. All the munchkins that I've recommended and those parents who have agreed to it have done great! As Kinder teachers, all we can do is "recommend" to parents that their munchkins be placed back into the oven to cook a little longer because they're still raw! If they chose not to then we strongly advise them that their child may be at risk. It can only be recommended because Kinder isn't mandatory so in reality their child doesn't have to attend Kinder...shhh don't tell new mom's that! All munchkins should be given the opportunity to attend school starting PreK but many don't. Grades are the killer once they hit 1st grade and up!

Personally I think we need an entrance exam into 1st Grade...I know it doesn't sound right but COME ON! They should AT LEAST have mastered in Kinder how to write their full name, know all their letters and sounds out of order, identify their numbers, and read simple words. These are just a few BASIC skills because Kinder teaches SOOOO much more now. If your child isn't ready please don't be in denial or don't blame everyone else! It's OK to say they're just not ready!!!! I've even heard parent's blame the munchkin...ugh! Some munchkins may have other problems such as learning disorders which also need to be dealt with but it's not something to blame the child. So this is where I am...in 1st Grade...with grades and munchkins that are going to struggle and fail automatically if something isn't done. I don't have a crystal ball to predict the future and I'm not being negative but I've had enough years to know the outcome of some of these babies! Catch the problems NOW instead of when they're older and in 5th Grade reading on a 1st Grade level!!!

I spoke to the counselor and principal and presented my results on 4 out of the ten that really, really need help. We agreed to set up meetings with moms and discuss what is best for their child. Luckily, I had already contacted these new parents with my concerns and they were ok with meeting with a larger group of people. We'll see tomorrow what happens with each meeting.

As I was treading in the water yesterday, deciding if I was going to grab onto the life preserver or swim off with the dolphins, I decided to accept the fact... I CAN'T WORK MIRACLES and wasn't going to have a stressful year!! I jumped into the year very excited and I hope that excitement comes back. So why was I jumping ship?!! I guess panic set in because I don't like to see my babies struggle more than they need to whether they've been with me 1 day or 1 year. I decided to put my big girl panties on...which by the way, probably kept me afloat because they just balloon up! heehee...and decided I CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH! I'm not going to kill myself or feed myself to the sharks...just yet! heehee All I can do is pass the life preserver onto my munchkins that need it more than I do! I can tread water and deal with it because remember...I have my big girl panties on! ;)

Stay tuned for more adventures to come...
XOXO's

Week 1...hmmm

Week 1 flew by and so did my weekend! Darn! ;)

My bubble was smashed this week! I was soooo excited to loop and poof! That bubble was popped in regards to looping up to 1st with my munchkins!! Whahhh! :( As I've mentioned before, looping is great when you move up with your entire class. Well, I got two more new munchkins this week. 9 new munchkins...ugh!! Almost half of my old babies moved so this left room for me to receive new munchkins. The new babies are very sweet but I'm starting from scratch with them! So much for picking up where we left off last year!! The one thing I'm having a hard time with is 3 of these babies are SOOOOOOO LOW!!! They should not be in 1st Grade! So many things popped in my head when I tested them...~Who the heck was your Kinder teacher? Where in the world did you go to Kinder? Do your parents realize how low you are? Ahhhhhh!!!

Frustration set in and a hint of despair...~what am I going to do now? Well I put my big girl panties on and figured I had to bite the bullet and deal with it. I had to remind myself it's not their fault and I need to figure out the answers to my questions. I looked up where one of them came from and was surprised her school last year was on "that" side of the freeway. Some teachers make comparisons to the different sides of the freeway. Our district has great schools on both sides of the freeway but many times my side of the freeway gets pushed aside or we just have more kids who are economically disadvantaged. I love my hood and barrio! heehee I've been there 13 years and will never teach anywhere else. I know, I know...never say never...but I say never! haha If I leave my lower valley family it will be for another career or ???

Back to my munchkins...when I saw which school she came from I really was puzzled but the great thing was I knew her Kinder teacher! I called the teacher to find out what happened and boy oh boy did I find out A LOT! My second munchkin is actually from our own school but was in another class and I have a lot of background on that little one too. My third munchkin came from a school on my side of the freeway and I left a message for the teacher but never heard back so I will call again Monday to get info. The other 6 new munchkins have to adjust to following a schedule and RULES!! Even some of my old ones have to be reminded about the rules! The old munchkins that were placed back into population are getting close to being put back into isolation row again this year!! On Friday I had to bring out the drill sergeant!! Warnings were flying left and right. They all were given the boot camp speech...~We're in 1st Grade now and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! I'm sure 2 were listening..haha They stared at me with scared blank looks on their faces and when I finished. ~Do you all understand me? Of course they all answered in their little sheepish voices ~yes ma'am. Two seconds later one of my newbies yelled out ~Hey!...and started laughing really loud! In my head I'm thinking ~what the, what the??!! I felt my head spin around so fast I probably gave myself whip lash! haha ~Is there something funny sir? He answered ~Yeah... you. ~Oh NO you didn't just say that to me!! I was ready to blow a gasket!! ~EXCUSE ME??! What did you just say young man? Did I say something funny? I wasn't sure if I should laugh with him or throw a changla! haha JK His response was HILARIOUS!! ~You're funny teacher you talk a lot...you like to talk to us huh? You talk like my other teacher but she hit the roof..you don't, you're pretty you called me a man...I'm not a man...funny teacher. I stood there and had to bite my tongue from laughing. Of course I had to keep a serious face and the drill sergeant out and responded back to him ~Did you understand young man what I was telling the class about behavior and 1st Grade? ~umm...yes, but you're funny teacher, I'm still not a man! Heehee! I'm sure the only words he heard from my entire rant were man and blah, blah, blah! haha

The sad thing about these little munchkins being so low is that if they don't make the grade they will fail! Ugh! I can only do so much to help them so mom and dad need to step up their game. I sent home a long letter and check list of what they should have learned in Kinder so they wouldn't struggle in 1st Grade and the eye opener fact that if they don't put in the extra time to work with their munchkins they could possibly fail. We'll see how many reactions I get on Monday about their munchkins. There may also be other issues as to why these munchkins are not retaining any information. Until we pin point those for sure I have a lot of work ahead of me with those babies.

The week was a good week even with the little surprises. Compared to the first week in Kinder...whew! what a difference. No pee'ers or poopers...yet! haha They're so cute too. I play tons of music in the class from different genres. Right now their favorite is Kidz Bop 18! It's so funny to hear these songs from the radio turned into "clean" kid versions! They're cute because they work and sing along to the songs. I crack up listening to them sing Hey Soul Sister, California Gurls, All the Right Moves, Break Your Heart, etc because they know all the words and groove in their little desks! haha I have to record them this coming week....too cute!

Week 2 begins tomorrow and leads into a nice 3 day weekend! Woohoo!!! Yes, I'm looking forward to my break already! haha Anticipating the long weekend will probably make my week drag! This week we're starting HOMEWORK! Yes the dreaded word all parents love to hate! haha! We'll see how that goes and which parents actually sit and work with their baby! Stay tuned for more adventures to come!...

XOXO's