Summing up my class in 10 words or less: Sammy: A puzzle! Wait… 50 pieces!?! That's TOO much work.
Read More...
As I may have mentioned before, we leveled our students this year in an attempt to lessen the achievement gap in each subject. Our largest group is the Intensive group and they are also the ones who have the farthest to go to meet fourth grade benchmarks.
Read More...
When a parent utters those words, it clearly indicates that the direction your parent meeting is about to go in is now out of your control. But I'll get to that later. (Hope you're sitting in comfy chair. This is a long one.) My team and I had two parent
Read More...
And now, allow me to introduce you to Melinda. Or, as I like to call her… The Contrarian. She is the fourth grader who is ALWAYS the opposite of everyone else. Why? Simply to BE the opposite. All. The. Time. During Art: Me: So I've cut this shape for
Read More...
That title is a phrase I have adopted from one of my teaching partners in an effort to help this VERY impulsive group of fourth graders make better decisions. You see, every year the third grade teachers say, "Juuuust wait until you get THIS bunch of
Read More...
Remember the time Billy almost fell off the cliff on a fourth grade field trip? Well, we went on that same field trip again recently. Thankfully, no one came close to Butch and Sundancing it this time. Per my usual, I drove the "emergency car" while my
Read More...
Have you noticed how teaching is much like a pregnancy? The first trimester is the shakiest, with the most queasiness and unexpected pains. The second trimester is more on auto-pilot. You're used to the weirdness of it all and are comfortable in the rhythm
Read More...
Dear President Obama, I have a suggestion. I may not be the first to float this idea past you, but let me assure you of my confidence in its success. Here goes… After attending a five-day training on a new math adoption, I think you should consider using
Read More...
[Note to self: always preview a movie before showing it to your class, even if it's a movie supplied on the Discovery Education web site designed for children.] So we all know that the last few weeks of school are filled with, well, time-killers. I really
Read More...
Hello Old Friends! How I have missed you all! I just thought I'd post a bit of an update and share a few stories just for conversation's sake. Update: My dearest is doing much better. He has damage to his kidneys from TTP. He receives dialysis three times
Read More...
Well my friends, you're not going to hear from me for a while. The love of my life has been diagnosed with a serious blood disease called TTP and I'm taking time away to care for him and get him healthy. As soon as our life gets some normalcy returned
Read More...
Sorry I have been so late in updating you about Sean's progress. (Houseguests. What can I say?) There is some good news to report. Sean experienced recess as a blind student and felt the awesome helplessness that comes with being unable to see. Would
Read More...
Good news, ya'll! Well, good news for me anyway. I won The Scholastic Scribe's Silly Sunday Sweepstakes prize! For those of you not in the know, The Scribe hosts a weekly photo caption contest. I participate every week because it's just plain fun, but
Read More...
I'm so happy to report that my story about Sean has touched a few people. That is always nice to hear! I received the following message via email and found it so heart-warming that I asked the author, Spedteacher from NYC, if I share it with all of you
Read More...
Like most teachers, I have little patience for bullies. I despise hearing of students picking on each other. I get especially hot under the collar when I hear about students bullying our visually impaired students. Our school is lucky enough to be the
Read More...