Fly on the Wall

December:

Charlotte tells herself "good girl" all the time now. Good self-esteem...CHECK._____________________________________________________________________________

First day of break:  Today I vacuumed, scrubbed the bathroom, cleaned the kitchen, did 4 loads of laundry, had a playdate with friends, showered AND shaved, made 18 cups of brown rice, 10 cups of black beans, colored with the girls, read books with the girls, helped Sam put decals of the Nativity up on the window and dropped off a Christmas gift. I think that's enough productivity for the rest of the year, no?
___________________________________________________________________________
I offered Charlotte some brown rice that I was eating and TWICE she refused with a resounding "NO!" and running off. I offered it to Sam and Charlotte came running and is now finishing off the bowl. HOW did I ever raise Samantha without a Samantha???
___________________________________________________________________________________

"Samantha, get up- out of bed."
Pause. "And...what happens if I don't?"
"Not an option, get out of bed!"
"But what happens if I don't?"

Lord Help Me

____________________________________________________________________________

I swear, if I hear the phrase, "So...I didn't read the instructions....how many points off is it if I didn't __________" one more time..

_____________________________________________________________________________
I came downstairs this morning and heard "CRINKLE CRINKLE CRINKLE". When I turned the corner I saw the last ditch effort from Sam to "shove" the box of cookies back onto the shelf. She spun around as quick as possible and tried to close her mouth over the stuffed-in cookie. I just looked at her and she looked at me. Slowly her eyes changed from surprise to guilt as she knew she'd been caught.

____________________________________________________________________________
Yesterday I was teaching “Cantar” and I sing, “LALALALALA!” into a  . After having them repeat it, one male student said, “NO! GUYS! That’s wrong! We’re boys! We say ”EL EL EL EL EL"

____________________________________________________________________________

Charlotte was put into time-out for the first time the other night. Of course, it wasn't a real time-out, just putting out of screeching range while we ate dinner. Samantha sat at the table while Charlotte was in "time-out" grinning from ear to ear, watching her sister intently. I laughed and she looked at me, eyes sparkling, 
"You're glad it's her and not you, aren't you?"
giggling she replied, "YEP!"

____________________________________________________________________________
I teared up last night watching Samantha play WITH her baby sister and the nativity scene. Charlotte was all over the place, knocking down stuff and picking up random pieces and Sam didn't blink an eye and calmly traded pieces with her whenever she wanted what Charlotte had. She has come so far- from lining up her toys and forbidding anyone from touching them to graciously playing with a careless toddler. As Sam said the other night, "Before Charlotte I never had anyone to play with at home, but now I do! We need more babies, mom." 
Siblings really are the best gift ever :

November

A tale of two tired sisters. One yells and complains, indicating that she's tired. We give her the binky, she cuddles like the sweetest cuddle-bug and we can lay her down AWAKE and she passes out, waking 2 hours later as happy as can be. 

The other yells and complains and SPITS, indicating that she's tired. We give her her puppies and she SCREAMS and stomps and flings herself to the ground because, well, she's tired. Then she SCREAMS and demands to be cuddled. With a heavy sigh we have to decline, which, of course, just perpetuates the tantrum. After 10 more minutes of fake-crying she finally passes out, waking 2 ours later as grumpy as she was when she went to sleep.

I'd like to think the eldest is just going through a phase, but she's been doing that routine since she was born, so I'm pretty sure any future husband will need some major sleep-routine warning...


_____________________________________________________________________________

Question on a test, "¿De qué tienes miedo?"
Student answer, "Tengo miedo de Ood."
^^^New teacher's pet

_____________________________________________________________________________
"No! nonononoNO!"
-Charlotte as she does something she's not supposed to do

_____________________________________________________________________________
I was so relieved that my ears perked up to Sam and her "great idea" that she whispered aloud. I turned around to stop the toothpaste going on a q-tip just in the nick of time!

_____________________________________________________________________________

Charlotte was very intensely studying me and the signing books as we read them over and over and over. About the 5th time through she got "cat", "dog", "baby", "book" and "hat" down perfectly. The best part was showing Samantha and watching HER excitement and aw! Unfortunately taking out the camera shuts off the performance and turns on the screeching and pawning for the camera :(


_______________________________________________________________________________

I've got my students trained well. When someone says something like, "Los maestros son inteligente" the rest of the class helps them out by starting a chorus of "SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS".

October

tricker-treater count- 1. Come on, kiddos, I've got TWO bags of candy to give away!

_______________________________________________________________________________
There are two very distinct kinds of exhausting. One is after working all day and coming home to do the night-time routine. The other is after taking care of (sick) kids all day. Every time I'm in the routine of one type and switch gears to the other I'm reminded of how equally exhausting the other routine is

______________________________________________________________________________
Staying home with a sick baby and an older sister who I THINK is playing hookie. She's quarantined to reading on the couch all day...we'll see how long it is before she's begging to go to school!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Me, "How many demerits do you have from me now?"
Student, "Three."
Me, "Well, it doesn't seem like the demerits are working for you, so next time this happens, I'll try talking to your coach."
Student, "NO! The demerits are working!!!!"

Ah, there you are, Leverage.

______________________________________________________________________________

Talking about our "date" this weekend to get Samantha her own bible, I told her there are some that are much prettier than mine, with gold and ribbons. Her eyes got real big and she asked, "Do you think they have a FROZEN bible?"

____________________________________________________________________________
Tess ate Charlotte's poop for lunch. Her food bowl was full. Just let that thought settle for a moment...

____________________________________________________________________________

September



Sam bathes herself now. Jer and I have more down time and Sam struts around the house after getting herself ready, beaming with pride. WIN-WIN.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Me, "You look confused. Where did I lose you?"
Student, "You said mascotas. You didn't give us that one. I have no idea what is."
Me *pointing to the vocab sheet* "Did you get it down? Yep! Right here."
Student, "No, that says mascotA, not mascotAS ."

Right, then. Baby steps it is.

_________________________________________________________________________
Charlotte can say, "Sm-ah-ta" and "noooooooooooooo!"...I'm guessing her first sentence is not too far around the corner...

________________________________________________________________________

student waiting for me outside my room: "Maestra, is the homework due today?"

Me "What did the board say?"

"Friday"

"What day is it today?"

"Not Friday. Ok, thanks!"

August


after a rougher day than we've had in over a year, Sam confessed at 6pm that she'd gotten up in the middle of the night and hung out in the basement for a bit...how do I even-where is this coming from?? What is so wrong with SLEEP that both my husband and child fight it like it's kryptonite?

______________________________________________________________________


Apparently Sam's main topic of conversation after her first day of kindergarten was the "Man who walked me to my pick-up spot. He wore some SHARP pants. He was sooooooooooo handsome. Even more handsomer than my daddy." Mr. Medna better watch out, someone's got their eye on him! Hopefully the crush will calm down by the time she reaches 6th grade :)

__________________________________________________________________________

July


Sam this morning, "*SIGH*...I miss Arkansawl."

_____________________________________________________________________________

Samantha today, "Does Emma live in a house made of wood?"
"No."
"Then why is it called Emma Woodhouse?"

________________________________________________________________________________

Sam just woke up very upset. After lots of mumbling I finally understood the sentence,
"I don't have a hog-suit!"
"It's ok, I'll get you one tomorrow."
"Ok." 
and she went back to sleep.

___________________________________________________________________________________

 I was making dinner and Samantha walked in:
"Is Daddy home?"
"No, he's still at work."
"Oh...YOU'RE making dinner?"
"Yep."
"Did daddy say that was ok?"

______________________________________________________________________________

Just taught Samantha how to read commas. She was reading, "Rabbit, Pooh and Piglet." I told her to take a breath between the first two words otherwise it sounded like something else. :)

____________________________________________________________________________

S "That's how you say pretty in Spanish."
Me "How do you say it?"
S *shrugs* "Something..."

Teaching Patience to Teens

        We had our ultrasound on a Wednesday at noon.  Since we have most of our family in town, in an effort to avoid a competition of "who knew first" and to have a little fun with Samantha, we decided to keep the gender a secret until we told family on Thursday evening.  Which meant that I wouldn't tell my students until Friday.
       

opening the present

Pink means a sister!

SO excited, although she knew it from day 1

  And to be even more evil, I refused to tell them until 8th period.  Why?  Because poor 8th period never got any surprises.  By the time they walk in, they know everything that is going to happen in class.  When I announced my first pregnancy, they all knew.  When I announced the second word spread before 2nd period even started.  So this time I made sure THEY got to spread the news.

Amanda is responsible for the "sextuplets" guess

    
And although I hated not telling family and friends for a whole 36 hours, I loooooved lording it over my students that I knew and they didn't.  We had fun and I got to promote the culture of life at the same time.  Win-Win!

Reality

My first year teaching full-time I had six preps- four math and two Spanish.  It was a 45 minute commute and I taught a total of 50 students. 

And it. was. marvelous.  

The kids were amazing.  The faculty, though small, was dedicated.  Most had a commute like myself.  But the community was amazing. 

Some of my students made me laugh so hard while they were apologizing for not doing their homework- just like every other day.  And even though I was only five years older than most of them, my "authority" was never an issue.  They were so respectful and kind.

It was only one year, but few of them really tugged on my heart.  I loved them like my own siblings. 

One of those special ones died today. 

I've never wanted to turn back the clock more than now, just to see him strut into class with his silly mischievous grin again.

In their heads

I asked a question to my Spanish I class and a student raised his hand.  When I called on him he paused and then became very confused.

 "Wait," he asked, "did you ask that in English or Spanish?"

Fly on the Wall- Classroom Edition

I was administering a listening part of a test. The students had to indicate whether the statement I read was "logical" or "illogical". After reading the first one a native Spanish speaking student started to laugh. Seeing as this was a test, I called on him, across the room, "What's so funny?" I asked (I know I know, rookie teacher mistake).
"It's just funny. It doesn't make any sense."
Cue dramatic pause before everyone (including the student) realized that he just gave the answer to the rest of the class.

Sam's Signature

Back in October or so I showed Sam how to draw a smiley face. It pretty much became her signature and we found random smiley faces on every piece of paper we left lying around. I thought I'd give her a little variety, so I showed her how to draw tears to make a sad face too. If I'm not careful, my students get papers handed back with smiley faces and crying smiling faces on them.
Luckily, they think it's pretty cool.

Signing "Cry"

Happy Tears

Yes, this DOES really happen

And I'm lost as to why the parents think it's ok to do so.

Fly on the Wall- Classroom Edition

student: "Sra. Lepper, how do you say 'I hate this?'"

me: "Eres bonita."

student: "ERES BONITA!"

me: "Gracias!"

Student Logic IV

Student: I don't understand why I'm failing.
Me: Well, you haven't turned anything in all semester.
Student: But I have it all in my folder!
Me: Great! Go ahead and turn it in.
Student: But it's not done.

Student Logic III

(Male) Student during a quiz: I don't know this.
Me: Well, I remember you being in class.
Student: I know. I was sleepy.
Me: I understand, but that doesn't mean you don't have to pay attention.
Student: I've been taking care of our new baby. I'm just too tired.
Me: So next semester when I have a kid and am tired, I won't have to do anything at work???
Student: um.....

Student Logic II

Student: I don't have to listen to the teachers or nobody. Ain't no one who can tell me what to do but the government.

Teacher: And the government says you have to be in school.

Student: Oh, I know. And ain't no one gonna stop me from getting my diploma.

Student Logic

Student (who has been sleeping in my class all semester): I can't stay awake in your class because I'm next to the heater. Just move me and I promise I won't sleep again and I'll start doing my work.

Me: The heater has been off this week. You've been sitting next to the AC. If you're hot, take off your winter coat!!!

A week of Mondays

I really connected with my seniors this week. So much so that they ask me all the time now how much longer I have. They are eagerly counting down with me. Why, you ask?

Because my due date is their last day of school.

Anywho...

This week was looooooooooooooooong. Monday should have been Friday. Usually my weeks start of well and then tapper off from there. This week each day got a little better. May sound great- but when you finish Monday and burst into tears due to exhaustion- well, suddenly 4 days turns into 4 months. But, on the bright side, seeing what a witch I was on Monday, my students were angels for me the rest of the week.

But I guess they can only behave for one class a day, because they were hellians for everyone else.
Now, before I continue, I need to explain where I work. This is not your regular high school. It is suppose to be a place where kids who need to catch up on credits or need a smaller school setting go. But the regular schools see us as a dumping ground for all their problems. One principal was keeping kids out of her school, but not signing off for them to come to us. Her reasoning? Those kids were not problems- just behind. She wanted to send us her drug/violence kids, and was just waiting for them to be caught.

Let me sum that up-- she was not allowing kids who were behind in school to go to school so that she could later send us her problem kids.

So, I work at a school where more than half are on probation and are in and out of jail/court. The other half are teen-moms or moms-to-be, with a few regular kids who are just trying to catch up on credits.
Tuesday we had a sub. This sub is really our one-and-only. Few others willingly sub for us. And she is great with them- knows their names, histories and is so, so patient.
But like I said--they can only be good for one teacher per day.
She had to send more than half her class to the office each period. They were being horrible. They refused to work, stay in their seats and mouthed off to the sub like you wouldn't believe.

I was in the office at one point and heard one of the students explain why the sub was at fault and therefore they were all justified in their outragous behavior

The seating chart the teacher left was wrong.

That right. She was telling them to sit in the wrong spot.

The Horror.

And that was just Tuesday.

Circular Logic

The following was a conversation between another teacher and a student of mine who leaves quizes, tests and worksheets blank:

Teacher: Are you listening when Mrs. Lepper explains the lesson?
Student: Yes.
T: Do you understand it?
S: Yes
T: are you taking notes?
S: Yes
T: Do you ask questions when you are lost?
S: Yes
T: Does Mrs. Lepper help you?
S: Yes
T: Do you understand it after she explains it to you?
S: Yes
T: Then why don't you do your work?
S: Because I don't understand anything!


ARG!!!

This morning, same student, 10 minutes after activity has started:

Me: Why haven't you started?
Student: I don't know what to write.
Me: What shape it this?
Student: Rectangle
Me: What's the area of a rectangle?
S: Base times height
Me: What's the base?
S: 6
Me: What's the height
S: 3
Me: So what's the area?
S: 6 times 3
Me: which is?
S: 18
Me: ok, good, write that down and keep going
S: But I don't know what to write!


FIN

New Pregnancy Symptoms!

Apparently, only pregnant teachers do the following:

• get on to students for wrestling over pencils
• call out students who talk while the teacher is talking
• want lids on the markers
  
• have the audacity to wake up a sleeping student and make them answer a question
• call students to the board
• make students pick up paper/pens/pencils/kleenex boxes that are dropped on the floor
• send students to the office for throwing a desk

At least, this is what they tell the principal and secretary. And I guess I'll know the error of my ways after the baby is born.