The Bow Tie Teacher

Happy birthday to...

ME! 

My 38th birthday is Tuesday and because of testing this week, I can't take a personal day. SO...I'm going to throw a party Tuesday afternoon. I ordered specialty cupcakes and individual serving ice cream. I want to make coca cola floats just because I can.  We're going out side for frisbee and kickball. I just want to blow off a lot of steam from these tests and I'm going to take my class with me. 

Here's the issue. I'm not celebrating with all my class. I have about 11 students that over the last couple of weeks haven't shown any interest in shaping up their behavior. Nothing short of asking mom to sit in class has helped them get it together. So they'll have to just enjoy some games and fun but none of the other treats I have planned for the others who've really made this year fun.

The Do Rights have been great. Yeah, some have their tough days, but they're not the rule, but the exception. So I'm going to dig in my pocket and share my thanks with them Tuesday. 

What do you think? Do you give everyone a treat? Some get treats? Don't buy treats at all? 

What the Hunger Games has taught me about teaching

I devoured the HG series this week. Amazon did me a huge favor by allowing me to borrow the 1st copy to get me hooked. Needless to say I ravished all three books in a week. While I was working with a small group of kids I realized even more how the students respond to Class Dojo. They want to get as many points as possible, especially when they know that Friday we're going to have a treat. It made me think about the HG and how Tributes responded to the parachutes during the games. Here are some things I'm going to implement in class. 

• I'm going to give out my classroom jobs by lottery. I've attempted doling them out by having the students write an application. This would be much more interesting. *Update, this worked perfect. I am going to have to change the classroom jobs more often. Allowing them to keep them for weeks and weeks isn't working right. Maybe 3 days top.   
• Drop little "gifts" on students during the lessons. Maybe a calculator during a math 2 min drill or a book to help give more insights during a science lesson. 
• I have to manage classroom supplies better. "3 pencils and that's all. If you need another I will have to start taking a Class Dojo point from you." 
• Push the kids to work in groups that grow and flex all the time. This is more of a planning issue than anything else. Need to find a way to reward them for successfully working together. The catty-ness is so old!
• The more we understand our situation to better we can make decisions and not have to repeat lessons. 
• Understand that it's easy to become the thing you despise even if you think you're doing a noble work. Don't sink in order to get what you need. 
• Going to have some kind of mid week reward on Wednesday not just Friday. 5 days is too long for my students. Maybe if the students get 1/2 of the points needed for Friday by Wednesday they can do something fun on Wednesday afternoon. 

Testing starts next week. I can't wait for this to be over. I'm not sure how well my class will do, but I'm just ready for them to get it over with. The stress on the teachers and the kids is immense. The desire to succeed is even tougher when it doesn't seem to be met with equal desire by the students. Just got to hope and trust for the best. 

Day 62 of the 115 Royal Burpee challenge. Been beating my up for sure. I have the lion share of them to still do. Joy! *I'll do 5 burpees for every comment I get about my comparison on THG and teaching. Almost got a muscle up yesterday at Crossfit South Cobb. Got to build off that momentum. 

Centers audit

Had my students audit my centers. They were supposed to play a center game and tell me what they learned. They thought they were telling me something, but little did they realize they were learning.

Fact family drill

Letter madness Center

Another Letter Madness Center

Word Game Center

I'm putting you on notice, 4th grade

I got up early this morning to spend some time in a quiet house. I started digging through teacher blogs. All I can say is that my class is being put on notice; "you're gonnna learn something" next week and you're going to like it! 

I found exactly what I was looking for to help with the concept of gallon conversion and a neat way to get my kids to journal everyday. My prayer is that I'll be able to get the information into these little tikes heads before they realize they're learning. Add some fun to learning, Mr. Whitaker and we'll learn more. Pictures will follow for sure. I'm sure I'll be posting the wonderful notes my kids write telling me how much the <3 me. I'm sure.