Earth Day...Go Hug a Tree!

This week was a short but long week!


Behavior in the classroom has been...hmmm....how do I say this without being censored and bleeped out! HORRIBLE!! I could blame it on the changing weather, but I won't. I so wanted to request at my last Superintendent meeting for a velcro wall! I refrained, kept quiet, and just accepted the fact that it may be Spring Fever!

Earth Day was around the corner and so was our field trip to see Disney's Oceans. I really thought that would make them behave like perfect little angels...Bahaha! ~Yes, that's a huge laugh out loud! Some of these kids just don't care about any form of consequences. When is the paddle coming back to schools? I bet that would straighten them out! I got my booty smacked a few times or a chancla thrown and I turned out ok. Heehee! To my surprise I had 5, yes 5 parents request their child not attend our field trip because of their poor behavior at school and at home. Wow! Yay parents! Deep down I did feel bad because in the 12ish years I've been teaching I've never left that many behind for behavior. I was and still am very appreciative of the parents showing support with the behavior issues! ~Thank goodness! Let's hope this Earth Day is the start of a new day for my munchkins and not only did they learn about keeping their Earth clean but consequences suck if they don't behave!

The munchkins had a great Earth Day and we all went out to hug a tree! Our field trip turned out to be a great time too. The movie was great and they loved it.


This week is going to be a very long week! TAKS testing!! My munchkins don't get a TAKS test but our end of the year testing will be in a few weeks. ~Ugh! TAKS testing will be for 3 days which means total lockup for us! Most schools ship out the lower grades during TAKS just so they won't make noise. Well, we don't get that luxury and we stay in our classroom all day. No PE and no recess time after lunch for 3 days! ~Can you imagine! Oh Lord! I try to keep them with a normal schedule and during our PE time I either let them play some fun games or I pop in a movie. This year though, my student intern will be locked up with them! ~Poor girl! I've been asked to administer the TAKS test to 3 Dyslexia students! YIKES! ~I don't want to!!!!! The pressure I feel just to administer the test is crazy...can you imagine the pressure these poor babies go through when they take this awful test?!! ~Lord help them! The only reason I said yes was...well, not to piss off administration...haha! Actually, I said yes because two of the babies that I'll be administering the test to are two that I had for my K-2 loop and qualified as Dyslexic. I would do anything for those kids! Instead of having a stranger test them they asked me so they would feel comfortable. I have to swallow my selfishness of not wanting to do it and do it for them. I pray they pass!! Third grade gets only one shot this year!!! Pray all munchkins do well!
Stick around for more to come....
XOXO's
Oopsie....they're upside down! haha

Hippity Hoppity!

Last week was a nice and partially mellow 4 day week!

Amazing how we're already in April! Time seems to be racing! Well...sometimes it's on sloooow mode!

Last week the munchkins had a family project due during the week and surprisingly they all turned it in! Some parents are actually getting a little more creative! ~It's about time!! The only reason I think they all did one was because their child wouldn't be able to participate in the Easter Egg Hunt without it. Haha! They were to create their own Easter basket and the only rule was, it could not be store bought. They all did a great job! The three best baskets were given prizes and that was a plus for them to complete the project as well.


The winds were crazy during the week and we were worried it would ruin our egg hunt but luckily we scheduled it Thursday morning before the winds blew in. The munchkins were super excited for their egg hunt and it was the perfect carrot to dangle over them during the week if they didn't behave. ~Yes, I enjoyed dangling that carrot! I even had my new munchkins step-mom call to ask ~Is it true they won't have their egg hunt because they didn't behave because someone, how do I say, passed gas on the rug? ~What?!!! I almost died laughing! ~No they don't get in trouble for FARTING! I didn't say that but told her ~If they don't behave, yes, they will not be participating in the egg hunt. Then she started to tell me that there is something wrong with him, that he's not all there, used the term weird, and that his father is in denial. Hello?! ~I think you're weird!!! The term parent or step parent shouldn't be given out so freely. Just because they're labeled "parent" doesn't mean they are parents or know how to parent. She might be like Cinderella's step-mom! Eeek!!

Back to the fun stuff!...The Egg Hunt!
Each munchkin had to bring 12 eggs filled with wrapped candies and our volunteers hid them the morning of our hunt. The volunteers did a great job hiding them in the two jungle gym areas we have. I'm the loud mouth of the group, why I'm not sure, because I was always really shy! heehee! On my count all Kinder munchkins took off running and scurrying to get as many as they could. They were thrilled and yes we had a few tumbles and rolls! Eggs everywhere! It was such a sweet sight to see them so excited and looking through their goodies. They were dying to open and eat it!! Since we did the hunt early in the morning I now got to dangle their filled baskets in front of them during the rest of the day! ~Ahahaha! I know, I know...mean teacher! It worked though! They were little angels! Haha!

From here on out there aren't anymore breaks in the year. ~Drag!! Unless I take one myself and make it a long weekend down the line. Which I just might! ~Shhhhh no telling!!!
TAKS testing is coming up and I'll be pulled from my munchkins to test some students! Yikes!! Sad thing is Kinder will start their assessments also after TAKS. ~More testing...YUCK! We still have a lot of work to do and push these babies to be ready for 1st Grade. I haven't heard if I'll loop up to 1st with these munchkins or not so until then we still have a few adventures left! Stay tuned!
XOXO's

To Blog or Not To Blog...

To blog or not to blog was the question last week...I hope I'm not getting sick...pooped!

It was a short week last week due to the day off for Columbus day. Yay!

We had such a fun short week! As I mentioned in my last post...Yes I rushed to finish testing my munchkins. I then got 2 new students...arrrrgh! I was so happy with my "little" class of 16. In all my years of teaching (12) ~I know that's nothing compared to veteran teachers 20 years or more...I've never had such a small class. I've always had the max 22 and one year I had 24. Yikes! In Texas the max in K-3rd or 4th is 22 and numbers are higher in the upper grades. I was loving 16! But a few of them are making me feel like I have 30 munchkins! haha! Getting new students later in the year always poses many questions that run through teachers heads...~was he/she kicked out of their last school...~are they a behavior problem...~why did they move here...~do they know anything...~why, why, why?! Well, one of the boys ( ~yes two boys) looked like trouble and boy did I peg that one...yup! A bully! ~Well not in my class! The other little boy is darling! The great thing about both of them is they came in knowing a lot! Yay!!! I tested them and was very happy!!! They've blended in very well and the other munchkins have adjusted to them quite well. I still have more girls than boys...10 girls, 8 boys...it's almost equal but let's just leave it at 18.

We started discussing how pumpkins grow to get ready for our field trip to Mesilla Valley Maze and Pumpkin Patch this week! Yippie!!! With the discussion of pumpkins came the whirlwind statements about Halloween and what they wanted to be. I knew the perfect story to read them...The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. I started by telling them they couldn't handle me reading a scary story and boy they love when I do that to them...heehee! It's really not a scary story but they don't know that! haha! We had to turn out the lights of course then I had them sit closer as I whispered in my scary reading voice. I learned it from my 3yr old cousin. You know the one...as you're voice quivers...~Ooonnnnccce Uuupooon Aaaa Tiiiimme...they were silent as I read! As I continued to read it quietly and saw they were really into it...AHHH! I screamed!...heehee! Probably gave them a few mini coronary attacks, but they loved it and almost died laughing! Haha! I know, I know...~bad teacher! Love it!! :) Now we read most of our books in the dark and they want me to scare them...haha!


Well, I got a scare myself last week. I call them "drive by's" but they're what administration call Walk Throughs, in other words mini evaluations. EEK! We were discussing a new pattern sequence and they were making their own patterns using some fun Halloween thingies I bought. During the time they were working... the crazy teacher I am had them saying their pattern to me in their scary ghost voice. ~Aaaaaa Bbbbbeeeee Bbbbbeeeee, Aaaaa Bbbbeeee Bbbbeeee In a normal voice that would say ABB! As my munchkins started this in walks my assistant principal! Ahhhhhhhh! Crap! ~Ok boys and girls good job ok now back to finishing your pattern strip. It went in one ear and out the other...~Aaaaaa Bbbbbeeeee Bbbbbeeeee, Aaaaa Bbbbeeee Bbbbeeee they continued over and over! ~Crap what do I do to stop them...I can't yell...BE QUIET!! No, that won't work! My administrator was tapping away on her iPod Touch they use for our Walk Throughs as the little ghosts kept chanting ~Aaaaaa Bbbbbeeeee Bbbbbeeeee, Aaaaa Bbbbeeee Bbbbeeee Whah!!!! Can I cry now?!! ~Good job boys and girls, now who can be the quietest ghost??? Please let this work, please let this work...Yay! Silence!!! I giggled out loud but it was a nervous giggle and so did my administrator...whew!! She spoke to a few ghosts then left. Holy Moly Guacamole!! Things actually went ok, she posted later that afternoon my results and it was all good! Thank goodness! Some comments that were posted were "They were asked to demonstrate mastery and did so successfully.....Ms. Buddé incorporated highly motivating strategies in her lesson such as asking her students to respond to questioning using their ghost voices....learning was reinforced and students received positive feedback." Double Whew!!!


Friday was fun Friday! I got them dancing!! All those years in dance classes, Trooperettes, Poms, Saltatrix, and Golddiggers pays off! Heehee None of my munchkins who have had me leave without knowing how to dance. My last group were awesome swing dancers!!! I'll post a little video clip of last year's Christmas show and Talent Show. Yes, Brian Setzer songs for both. Believe me, we like to put on a show! Fun! They're not shy to dance or perform on stage at all. This was going to be the first time I got these new little munchkins up to do dance. Some of them would say they didn't want to or didn't know how. ~oh no, not in my classroom...we ALL dance! Haha! And that they did! We all had sooooo much fun! I have a few show offs too! A few little wanna be break dancers and a few who danced like Elaine from Seinfeld...haha! The Elaine dancing will change soon, I promise! This week for fun Friday we're going to practice our robot, moon walk, and fix all the Elaine's out there...haha

Wednesday we're off to the pumpkin patch, it's a VERY long dry...cross your fingers no potty accidents!...stay tuned for more ...XOXO's
Enjoy my past munchkins Christmas and May Talent Show video clips!!!

What is Kindergarten??

What is Kindergarten??

Today was such a wonderful day that I truly got that feeling back! I love Kindergarten! There are moments from time to time that I get that feeling and just love what I do! Then of course there are moments that make me sit and think about what and why I do what I do. Days like today just make it that much better!

So what is Kindergarten??...Well, translated literally from German it means "children's garden." Friedrich Fröbel opened the first kindergarten in Germany on 28 June 1840. As per Wikipedia's definition; it is a form of education for young children which serves as a transition from home to the commencement of of more formal schooling. Children learn to communicate, play, and interact with others appropriately. A teacher provides various materials and activities to motivate these children to learn the language and vocabulary or reading, mathematics, science, computers, as well as that of music, art, and social behaviors. For children who previously have spent most of their time at home, kindergarten may serve the purpose of helping them adjust to being apart from their parents without anxiety. They are usually exposed to their first idea of friendship while they play and interact with other children on a regular basis.

When I sat down to do my blog tonight I knew I wanted to blog about getting that feeling back of what Kindergarten really is...that is, before the TAKS came into the picture years ago. I knew what MY definition of Kindergarten was so I decided to google Kindergarten to see what the Internet would say. I came across Wikipedia and others. For some who do not know this... shhhhhh...Kindergarten is not mandatory in the state of Texas. As a matter of fact, it's not mandatory in; Oregon, Ohio, Missouri, California, Louisiana, Colorado, IL, WI, PA...to name a few. Many of these states do not mandate it but most children attend Kindergarten...Thank Goodness!!! I can't imagine what 1st Grade would be if children didn't get that foundation. Yikes!

As I read Wikipedia's definition...it made me smile. I'm not one to toot my own horn ever! Those that know me, know that very well, but today reading Wiki, I could actually say ~hey..today that was my classroom and munchkins!! We had so much fun!! Kindergarten has changed so much from the time I went to school and even from when I started as an intern to now. Back in the day the key word in Kindergarten was Play! Kindergarten has steered away from play because of the demands of that lovely test...TAKS. When I started teaching it was soooooo much fun! I had a Dramatic Play Area, a mini kitchen, little costumes, hats, and fun stuff to pretend with plus we still learned to read and write and everything else. The interactions and dialogue the munchkins would have with one another during that time was incredible! Then we were told no more Play Time from past administration. Boo!!! Many elementary principals have either middle school or high school experience only and in their mind numbers take over. TAKS scores!

Today was a day of Play!!! It was a beautiful cool morning and that started our day just right. The windows open (ok only two of 7 open...heehee...it's an old building) to feel the breeze come in and the munchkins were quietly working. They were all excited to talk about the hail storm that hit last night. My sweet "Jimmy Boy" said ~Mr. Sun spit ice down. Haha! Cute! Think that's a little bit my fault because when they come in from PE they're usually hot, stinky, and dripping with sweat. So I usually tell them they smell like Mr. Sun and he spit on them. Haha!! I had a teachable moment there and briefly explained where the hail came from. ~Mr. Sun didn't spit down the ice...it came from his drink he dropped! heehee! No I didn't tell them that but they probably would have believed me if I did! They're too cute!! ~hail is frozen water droplets that come from the clouds and can get bigger and bigger if there is an updraft and new layers of water droplets freeze on top. Ok, so I should have stopped at frozen water droplets from the clouds...sometimes my 2nd Grade teacher science brain comes out! haha! Oh well, I'm sure it won't hurt them knowing, that is.. those who heard anything after frozen water...heehee!

The day continued to be really pretty, weather wise. It was so cool, breezy, and a bit overcast when we picked up our munchkins after lunch and we decided to take them on a walk. Our school has a huge back area and we decided to take them on their first walk. We used to do this a lot when we just didn't feel like going back in and back to the same old thing! Today's weather just made it that easy to say ...walk time! It was so sweet, two itty bitty's came up to make sure they got to hold my hands as we walked. All the others just gathered around as we walked and talked. I felt like my little ducklings were waddling behind me. We talked about the trees and how the leaves would be changing, the weather, and anything that was going around us. The clouds were filling up and getting a little darker and they got to see them moving closer together. The little oooo's and ahhh's were cute to hear! We still didn't want to go in, ok I didn't want to go in...ha! These little munchkins are so easily amused! So we held hands and made a big circle and we walked in toward the center and back out, then in and back out, and in and out...you get the picture...they LOVED it! As they walked in toward each other they always let out a scream, I had to laugh each time! Darn I didn't take the camera out! We did this over and over and over...to see their little faces laughing was too cute. Then one of the other Kinder classes wanted to join our fun so that made the circle even larger! The screams were even louder! Walking one way in a circle then switching the other way was hilarious to watch these little bodies get twisted and bumping as they went the wrong way. Then I decided to do Ring Around the Rosie, Hokey Pokey, and Duck, Duck, Goose, in our large circle. I forget that many of them have never played or heard of these simple games. The Hokey Pokey was fun for them and us to watch. As we were making such a loud commotion other kids from different grade levels who were at lunch came over to watch. My past munchkins who are now 3rd Graders ran over and wanted to play Duck, Duck, Goose with us! Awww...I miss those munchkins! It was such a wonderful thing to see the older kids playing too. I also got in on the fun...one of my munchkins who was the goose didn't know what to do so I held her hand and we ran around the large circle as we were chased. I had to do that with a few, boy did I get a work out! haha! Many times teachers forget to have fun with their students especially as they get older, so to see my old babies playing with my Kinders and having a good time just made my day! Loved it! They asked if we were going to do it again tomorrow...I wish! We actually stayed outside playing for maybe an hour! A newbie Kinder teacher asked if I thought we would get into trouble...~What? Trouble?... no, but who cares if we did? it would be worth it! We've learned how to justify anything we do in Kinder. It's not actually not a matter of having to justify ourselves but from time to time someone will question something and in Kindergarten anything we do is a learning experience for many of these munchkins. So I'm glad we gave them an hour of outdoor fun experiences! What a wonderful day for my munchkins and for myself! I think I needed that to get a hold of what Kinder really is...fun!

Was today the calm before the storm in Kindergarten or just a wonderful preview of what's to come??? Stay tuned for more...

XOXO's