Teamwork

Last Friday was a big day for football fans in West Virginia.  It was the annual Coal Bowl, in which WVU and Marshall play each other.  This was Marshall's big year...we had a chance to win for a change.  So, we decided to use the event to have fun with the kids.  I sent a note home early in the week asking them to dress their child in Marshall green or the old blue and gold.  Here's the turn out for the green team.

Yeah.  That's it.  Me and Lydia!  Go Green.....

Then there were these two blue and gold cuties.   I don't think they planned to dress alike, but it sure worked for them.

Lydia and Anna are BFFs even though they root for different teams.  While we were "playing" football at the end of the day, I happened to look down and see Anna (who was not performing for anyone) say mostly to herself, with the appropriate hand motions, "Marshall is goin' DOWN!"  It was so funny.  Anyway, here are the BFFs.  Afterall, it is just a game.

During the big "game", where Mrs. Bayles was the quarterback for both teams, we had cheerleaders for both teams.  Notice the homemade pom-poms.  More about them later.  The game was just too fast to get photos.  :>)



So, the whole point of the day was to teach them a little bit about our wonderful state and a lot about teamwork.  Each of the day's activities were completed as a team.  They played finger flick football, worked with a map of WV, did some football math and made pom-poms.  Here's how the teamwork worked.  When making pom-poms, each person could only have one job.  There was a feeder, a cutter, a stacker, a sorter, a counter for each color and a taper in each of the 4 groups.  One child fed the crepe paper to me and I cut.  Another took the cut pieces and stacked them up.  The next child put them in stacks of 8 in each of the 4 colors.  Each child picked up one set of each color and I taped them together.  You can see they have all four of the colors in each pom-pom...no favoritism!  They worked together and heard lots of talk about the advantages of this plan.  A great time was had by all and again, they were well behaved and on task.  Gotta love that in a class!  Gotta love this class.  Here they are holding their TEAMWORK banner.

What do you think?  OH, and by the way, Marshall ALMOST beat the Mountaineers.  Next year!

Coming Soon

I have two blog posts in my mind and some photos to go with them, but I am too tired on a Monday after a meeting at school, a meeting after school and Zumba.  So, you can look forward to a post about an
Ah Ha Moment and some fun Team Work activities....coming soon to a computer near you.

Really? What? Hmmmm.

So today was one of those days sort of like you have when you are first dating someone.  Lots of hmmm?  Really?  What?  The kids just kept surprising me today....still looking for the way to put it all together, but learning some interesting stuff.
It was not a great morning...noisy and a wall writing incident that was later scrubbed off.  But, the afternoon was much better.  We are talking about sorting in math.  Had them decide on ways they could sort each other and they seemed pretty much into that.  Then we read The Button Box and I got out the buttons to sort.  With no small measure of trepidation, I sent them to their seats to hand out the buttons.  They were quiet, patient, and attentive...and they could sort!  What????
Next, we started our study of the life cycle of the monarch butterfly.  I read a book with great photos and then read the classic, Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Just so happens that I have a copy of that book in spanish.  For fun, I read it to them.  They clapped when I finished.  Really?????
Last, it was time for journal writing and one of them asked if we could put on some quiet music and turn the lights out.  Hmmmm.  What???  Really????  It was one of my boys!  We did and they wrote quietly for 15 minutes or so.
I just keep storing this information to be used for future planning.  I love finding out what makes a group tick and it is different for each and every group!
What do you think?
Donna

A Gift

We got an appointment at the Vet's at 11:30 this morning. I took my lunch, recess and planning time to go with my husband for Sweep Pea's final visit. We got there after a wonderful drive over that Sweet Pea loved, I'm sure. She loves riding on your lap in the car and the sunshine...both were hers today. My husband went into the office to tell them we were there. I stayed in the car with Sweet Pea. Soon after he went inside she gave a couple of coughs, straightened out, curled right back up on my lap and breathed her last. I was talking to her the whole time. I told her to run fast to the bridge. (If you don't know about the bridge, I will post it at the bottom of this.) I think she had been glimpsing the bridge on the way over. One of her little paws kept reaching out.
It was a gift to hold her and talk to her as she left this life.
We planted her and prayed over her out at Shangri La Ti Da.
When Don got home and I went back to work, the two dog girls both whined and Mercy went right in to check the last place she had seen Sweet Pea. My furry family is a fine thing!
Like my brother said, we know this day is coming on the very day we bring them into our lives...
I am happy that she is not sick or tired any more.
Today was a day of tears, but the joy of her life with us will stay with us forever.

***Here is the story of the Rainbow Bridge:
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.


All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.


They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.


You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.


Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

My Other Real Life

Today I am at school all by myself, which I love...usually.  I can get so much done when there is no one else here to visit with....usually.  Today, I am having touble concentrating.  My 20 year old kitty, Sweet Pea...and her name says it all...is on her last days I'm afraid.  She has been sleeping more than usual.  She is wobblier than usual.  She leaks a little.  And this morning she didn't want to eat her special soft food.  She is sleeping in her safe and quiet place in the closet - away from the younger cats and the big galumphing dogs.
I held her this morning and petted her just like she likes to be petted.  She purred and was happy.  She isn't in any pain.  She is tired.
So, my other real life is taking up all the space in my heart right now.  For me teaching and planning for teaching is a work of the heart....
Today it is going slowly...with a heart full of kitty thoughts.

My Sweet Pea   aka  PeaPod

Another Fun Friday

I mean to tell you that I got paid too much to do my job today. I promise you that the day went so fast they probably should have only paid me for 1/2 a day...no, don't tell anyone! It was a great day and the kids behaved so well. The secret today was speed. We had so much to get done that there was NO time to get into any kind of trouble...LOVE that!
So, here's what we did: The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree. Each of them made a book (insert their name in the title) that showed all the seasons. We first did all of the backgrounds and bare trees. They were made out of pretty blue xerox paper with torn green construction paper for grass in three seasons and torn white for the winter season. Brown paper trunks and branches were added. (Connie, we didn't have enough! But quickly cut more.) Next, they came to the carpet to hear the part of the story that told about spring. OH! I forgot. Stevie and I sang, loudly and ... oh, well, just loudly, the song, "Winter, spring, summer or fall...all you've got to do is caaaallll and I'll be there, baby...you've got a friend." Does that song have a real name? So, I read about spring, we talked about spring and the apple tree and then we went into 3 smaller groups to glue tiny tissue paper blossoms and leaves onto the spring tree. Have you ever met a kid who couldn't tear paper? If not, come on in and I can introduce you to one...he had NO idea. We read the summer part, added lots of leaves and tiny green apples to the next page of the book. Fall was golden leaves and red apples. For winter, they got to put one finger in the white paint and add snowflakes to the sky. We then took the pictures outside (with a block to put on top-thank you, Earl) to dry. Unfortunately, one of the little girls put hers under her arm to carry it! Just when you think you have everything covered....sorry, mom.
We also did an apple print on the back page to show the star in the middle. We did run out of time to really enjoy the books all put together so I kept them and we will finish up on Thrilling Tuesday. Still need to add the words for the seasons and now I think we will have time to write one thing about each season on the back. Hopefully, I can get some photos of the finished product on here for you to see.
But, the BEST part of the whole day was when one of my darlings said, "Do we do Fun Friday every Friday? I love Fun Friday. I love this craft. I love this book." Ahhh, a last first time they realize how fun Fun Fridays are. Better from them than my principal any day!
Planning is massive, clean up is massive (Thanks, Teresa!), but happy kids learning something...SO worth it all. Good day. Long weekend. Pay day. Just doesn't get much better than this.
So, how was YOUR day? :>)

Here is the whole book of the seasons.  On the back of each page is a fact about that season that they dictated to an adult.  Amazing how hard a concept this is for them to get...I guess it is just too abstract for them.



And a little apple art for decorations.  The little one hung on the tree and the big one hung from the ceiling...you can do that when you work with little people.

Happy Tears

Today was a good day after much praying and planning last night and this morning!  We started off with some reviewing and refining of expectations...it always seems clear enough to me when I say it the first time, but often have to go back and say it another 3 or 7 ways until we are all on the same page.  Family building continued as we agreed to help a couple of kids by reminding them gently about recurrent infractions.  I also told them I needed help remembering to use a quieter voice.  I told them my throat was sore when I went home from talking too loudly all day.  So, all day one of my little guys would quitely pipe up and say, "Your throat, your throat."  Sweet.
I have a little boy who is sad all the time, or seems to be.  I haven't seen him smile or enter into any of the excitement and fun of the first few days.  Today was his unbirthday and when we sang our special birthday song to him as I bounced him on my lap and held him tightly, he laughed.  It was such a sweet surprise that I had to stop singing for a moment to clear the tears out of my throat and eyes...so happy for him and for the other kids to see him happy! 
More happy tears:  at Zumba on Monday as we were dancing up a sweat and I was enjoying myself as usual, I was overcome with the scope of the many blessings in my life and I got teary eyed.  Ahh. I'm sure everyone just thought it was sweat!
What has caused you to cry happy  tears?
d.