"Ms. Schadt, we're the only ones doing any work around here." -student helping me clean up after indoor recess (I gave him a Good Helper sticker for that one)
You can tell the kids are from the Northwest when they say...
"Ms. Schadt, is that a soy latte you're drinking again?"
"I know how to get to Canada. You go past Mt. Reindeer."
"Is that a frappachino?"
"It is drizzling. No, it's sprinkling."
Sweet note from a daughter to her parents:
"Dear Mom and Dad, I love you so much that when I am a mommy I want to live here with you. I love when you play with me."
Chaos erupts in the classroom with
"Ms. Schadt! She is kissing him! She kissed him four times!"
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Teacher Apprication Week
I am overwhelmed with the amount of kindness the kids and parents are bestowing upon me this week. The Parent Association has organized amazing breakfasts for each morning and assigned each day of the week a day to do something for your teacher (e.g. Monday was bring your teacher a flower day). I am so thankful for my class of 24 wonderful students. I have a renewed spirit for teaching with a bit more energy each morning after a delicious pastry and hot coffee.
This week I want to thank each of my former teachers; Each one inspiring me to dive into this profession in a different way. My mom tells the story of when I came home from kindergarten announcing I wanted to be teacher. My kindergarten report card stated how I would go around the room helping other kids with their projects. I don't really remember any of that, but I do know that from the time I can remember there was no doubt in my mind I wanted to teach. So THANK YOU teachers!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Spring Thoughts
I just returned home from Costa Rica last night, refreshed for the last few months of teaching before summer comes. The kids looked so much older today, yet small at the same time. Probably because I wasn't around so many kids while I was gone. I missed them and I was glad to spend the day with my class again.
While on our trip, I thought a lot about the environmental impact of my daily life. Costa Rica is exploding with eco-tourism hotels and tour trips. There are small recycle stations set up everywhere with containers for compost, aluminum, plastic, and paper. I was excited. I love recycling. I really do. I feel guilty when I have to throw away one scrap of paper. Earth Day is coming up and I want to do something with the kids. I've come up with a few ideas:
1. Have Earth Day be a "no trash day" - bring compost bucket to school and model not throwing anything away.
2. Read aloud books about helping our Earth. (One of my favorites is Lauren Child's We are Extremely Very Good Recyclers.)
3. Design an activity booklet printed on recycled paper for the kids to learn ways they can be good stewards of their communities.
4. Pass out the Earth Day edition of Time for Kids magazine
I really want to plant a little garden at the school, but I haven't found an area yet/don't know how that would go over.
Today we began our Animals unit in science. We graphed our favorite animals and discussed what animals we would like to learn more about. We talked about where we can find those animals in our area (Woodland Park Zoo, Kelsey Creek Farm, etc.) I put up a new display to create a classroom collage of animal pictures we collect. I haven't decided yet if we're going to have a small class "pet" (e.g. butterflies, tadpoles, a hermit crab...) We did ladybugs at the beginning of the year, though I would love to have some in my garden this spring.
While on our trip, I thought a lot about the environmental impact of my daily life. Costa Rica is exploding with eco-tourism hotels and tour trips. There are small recycle stations set up everywhere with containers for compost, aluminum, plastic, and paper. I was excited. I love recycling. I really do. I feel guilty when I have to throw away one scrap of paper. Earth Day is coming up and I want to do something with the kids. I've come up with a few ideas:
1. Have Earth Day be a "no trash day" - bring compost bucket to school and model not throwing anything away.
2. Read aloud books about helping our Earth. (One of my favorites is Lauren Child's We are Extremely Very Good Recyclers.)
3. Design an activity booklet printed on recycled paper for the kids to learn ways they can be good stewards of their communities.
4. Pass out the Earth Day edition of Time for Kids magazine
I really want to plant a little garden at the school, but I haven't found an area yet/don't know how that would go over.
Today we began our Animals unit in science. We graphed our favorite animals and discussed what animals we would like to learn more about. We talked about where we can find those animals in our area (Woodland Park Zoo, Kelsey Creek Farm, etc.) I put up a new display to create a classroom collage of animal pictures we collect. I haven't decided yet if we're going to have a small class "pet" (e.g. butterflies, tadpoles, a hermit crab...) We did ladybugs at the beginning of the year, though I would love to have some in my garden this spring.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Quotes
“If you stay inside all day you turn green and not beautiful.”
“My Mom is bigger than my dad.”
“You mean taller?”
“No bigger. She’s 39 and he’s 38.”
Student: "My mom said if I'm good she's going to give me a baby."
Me: "What?"
Student: "A real one. From her belly. I've been wanting one since I was three."
"You can't put your middle finger up unless it goes with those other ones."
As one girl entered my classroom she declared: "Yesterday the dentist gave me something on my face that made me feel like tinkerbell. Then I got to watch tinkerbell! They also put glitter on my face- just like tinkerbell!"
What dentist carries glitter? I would really like to know.
Kid 1:"What's the baby's name going to be?"
M.S.:"It starts with 'L.'"
Kid 2:"Liam?"
M.S.:"No, but good guess."
Kid 3:"Leo?"
M.S.: "No."
Kid 4: "Ellen?"
Student A: "Only girls like sparkles."
Ms. S.: "That's not true. Josh likes sparkles." (I always use him in situations like these.)
Silence and awe.
Student B: "That's because he loves girls. And he loves you. Right?"
Ms. S.: "My nephew may be born this week; I'm going to be an aunt!"
Student A: "You get to walk in the mud then."
Student B: "No she means an auuuunt. Like someone who takes care of you in your family. Not a creature."
Student A: "Ms. Schadt, why do our parents have to go to work and why do we have to work hard at school?"
Student B: "Our parents work to make money."
MS: "And you go to school to learn and one day go to college and read books for fun and have conversations with friends..."
Student A: "I don't want want to do any of that. I just want to color."
At the opening of our Martin Luther King, Jr. assembly, our guest speaker asked the kids "Does anyone know the famous man we are honoring?" One student replied, "Michael Jackson." Oh, they have so much to learn...
Student A: "When Santa comes I'm going to dress up like a witch and scare him."
Student B: "I'm going to pretend to be asleep and then grab his leg and drag him to his sleigh and grab my present."
Worried Teacher: "Aren't you afraid you'll be on the naughty list?"
Student B: "It won't matter because I'm going to grab my present from him."
Ms. S: "Can anyone think of another example where we use ordinal numbers?"
Student: "Playing drinking games."
5 year old: "I'm making a birthday card for myself."
me: "When is your birthday?"
5 year old: "July the fifth."
"Ms. Schadt, I know my colors! Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violent."
I learned a new color today.
"Ms. Schadt, your socks and shoes make you look like a mom."
Thanks guys...
Dental Hygiene Wisdom from a Five-Year-Old:
"When you go to the doctor they look for sugar bugs. You know, like on lady fingers. Toothpaste is poison for sugar bugs."
My favorite part is that the student declared this in the middle of math with absolutely no prompting. There you have it, brush your teeth.
Two students were reading a very scientific book about spiders and came to my desk:
Students: "Ms. Schadt, what is that on the back of the black widow?"
L: "A male black widow. They're brown, remember?"
S: "Oh yeah. Is it dead?"
L: "No."
S: "What are they doing?"
L: "Playing..."
During the middle of a story I was reading about a bug safari:
Student A: "Ms. Schadt, did you know that if you're an adult and you're alone you can call 9-9-1?"
Student B: "You mean 9-1-1!!!"
Student A: "That's what I said, 9-9-1! Like if there's a fire. But only if you're an adult."
"Ants have poison in their butts. When birds want to eat delicious
ants and go toward the ant territory, ants shoot poison from their butts. What
happens to the birds is some ants shoot red poison and some shoot blue poison.
When the queen ant shoots poison, the bird dies. It’s really fast like a
bullet. A bullet is really fast."
“My Mom is bigger than my dad.”
“You mean taller?”
“No bigger. She’s 39 and he’s 38.”
Student: "My mom said if I'm good she's going to give me a baby."
Me: "What?"
Student: "A real one. From her belly. I've been wanting one since I was three."
"You can't put your middle finger up unless it goes with those other ones."
As one girl entered my classroom she declared: "Yesterday the dentist gave me something on my face that made me feel like tinkerbell. Then I got to watch tinkerbell! They also put glitter on my face- just like tinkerbell!"
What dentist carries glitter? I would really like to know.
Kid 1:"What's the baby's name going to be?"
M.S.:"It starts with 'L.'"
Kid 2:"Liam?"
M.S.:"No, but good guess."
Kid 3:"Leo?"
M.S.: "No."
Kid 4: "Ellen?"
Student A: "Only girls like sparkles."
Ms. S.: "That's not true. Josh likes sparkles." (I always use him in situations like these.)
Silence and awe.
Student B: "That's because he loves girls. And he loves you. Right?"
Ms. S.: "My nephew may be born this week; I'm going to be an aunt!"
Student A: "You get to walk in the mud then."
Student B: "No she means an auuuunt. Like someone who takes care of you in your family. Not a creature."
Student A: "Ms. Schadt, why do our parents have to go to work and why do we have to work hard at school?"
Student B: "Our parents work to make money."
MS: "And you go to school to learn and one day go to college and read books for fun and have conversations with friends..."
Student A: "I don't want want to do any of that. I just want to color."
At the opening of our Martin Luther King, Jr. assembly, our guest speaker asked the kids "Does anyone know the famous man we are honoring?" One student replied, "Michael Jackson." Oh, they have so much to learn...
Student A: "When Santa comes I'm going to dress up like a witch and scare him."
Student B: "I'm going to pretend to be asleep and then grab his leg and drag him to his sleigh and grab my present."
Worried Teacher: "Aren't you afraid you'll be on the naughty list?"
Student B: "It won't matter because I'm going to grab my present from him."
Ms. S: "Can anyone think of another example where we use ordinal numbers?"
Student: "Playing drinking games."
5 year old: "I'm making a birthday card for myself."
me: "When is your birthday?"
5 year old: "July the fifth."
"Ms. Schadt, I know my colors! Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violent."
I learned a new color today.
"Ms. Schadt, your socks and shoes make you look like a mom."
Thanks guys...
Dental Hygiene Wisdom from a Five-Year-Old:
"When you go to the doctor they look for sugar bugs. You know, like on lady fingers. Toothpaste is poison for sugar bugs."
My favorite part is that the student declared this in the middle of math with absolutely no prompting. There you have it, brush your teeth.
Two students were reading a very scientific book about spiders and came to my desk:
Students: "Ms. Schadt, what is that on the back of the black widow?"
L: "A male black widow. They're brown, remember?"
S: "Oh yeah. Is it dead?"
L: "No."
S: "What are they doing?"
L: "Playing..."
During the middle of a story I was reading about a bug safari:
Student A: "Ms. Schadt, did you know that if you're an adult and you're alone you can call 9-9-1?"
Student B: "You mean 9-1-1!!!"
Student A: "That's what I said, 9-9-1! Like if there's a fire. But only if you're an adult."
"Ants have poison in their butts. When birds want to eat delicious
ants and go toward the ant territory, ants shoot poison from their butts. What
happens to the birds is some ants shoot red poison and some shoot blue poison.
When the queen ant shoots poison, the bird dies. It’s really fast like a
bullet. A bullet is really fast."
Support for Japan
The kids have been talking about Japan. "Plates moved and caused an earthquake." "Hundreds of people died." "Boats were on top of roofs." Five year olds are more clued in to world news than I expected. I wanted to do something as a class to show our support and concern.
We made a card for the Red Cross thanking them for helping those in need and expressing our thoughts and concerns for those in Japan. I sent it off feeling a little bit better about addressing my small students' concerns.
love letter to japan
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
I ♥ Science
This month I have a bit of freedom with the science curriculum. The theme? Science Fair. I'm basically supposed to conduct a bunch of experiments with the kids. Our month-long project will be testing to see if plants will grow in the dark. Other experiments include discovering which dye colors are in M&M's, what the best penny cleaner is, and what preserves apples the longest. The kids are happy we're doing a bit more hands-on activities and they can't stop looking at the dirt cups on the bookshelf. I had some kids raise their hands and say they had never planted a seed and watched it grow. This is why I love teaching.
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