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