Three's Not a Charm

If you look back to my posts from January 30th and February 27th, you notice a theme. I can add today to that theme. I'm sick again.

It started on Sunday when my nose started running and I was sneezing. I attributed it to the dogs at Marty and Nancy's where we celebrated Easter. Yesterday at school I was really short-tempered and also achy and sneezy. Last night I went to bed at 8:00. I was pooped. Today I felt short-tempered again, and it didn't help that we went on a field trip. Kids love field trips. In fact, the word field trip alone sends most of them into a tizzy.

I'm not surprised I'm sick once again. With this weather we've had lately, there's been thawing and freezing, kids sneezing and wheezing. I haven't taken the best care of myself either. I haven't been working out, I haven't been eating right. I know what I need to do, but at this point in the teaching game, all that stuff, as important as it is, falls to the wayside.

I am so looking forward to spring break in a week and 1/2 (but who's counting?!). I will be in Arizona visiting my Mom and Rich, living the life of a retired person. The sun, the warmth, the pool, the dry desert. I can't wait.

A Bountiful Basket

Look what the Easter Bunny left for me. I was getting a little nervous, because Stein kept threatening to tell the Easter Bunny, "No candy". What? On Easter morning? When I look forward to being on a sugar high from about 8:00 am until lunchtime? When the good people at Reese's make some of the best peanut butter and chocolate confections? Say it isn't so. Tell me it's a joke. It was. Bless that bunny.

Stein's basket wasn't downstairs where it usually is. Thankfully, the Easter Bunny left a note:

Every Easter I can't help but remember a trip we took to Washington, DC over Easter break. I was 4 years old, and was so excited that the Easter Bunny found us in our hotel room there. Here's a classic picture from Easter morning then (sorry for the poor quality - it's a picture of a picture). I obviously couldn't wait to get to the candy, couldn't stop to run a comb through my hair.Later that day, we left our chocolate candy on the back ledge of the station wagon. The warm sun melted it all into one gooey mess. I think we just let it form back into solid and ate it all mixed together.

Happy Easter to you! May your day be filled with sugary goodness.

An Afternoon With the Kids

Yesterday we spent the afternoon with Eric and Mia. We had lunch, went to see Horton Hears a Who at the movies, and then came home to color Easter Eggs. We ended the time together by watching It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. Too much fun, and so nice to see the bright colors of Easter eggs. Although it all seemed very surreal against the backdrop of snow outside the window.

Eric showing one of his eggs:

Mia showing hers:

Writing on the egg before dyeing: Prior to clean-up:The finished product:
We put rubber bands on some of the eggs before we dyed them. When you take the rubber band off, a white line remains. It's kind of like tie-dyeing.

I hope your weekend is full of bright colors and thoughts of spring!

March Madness

Okay, mother nature. I've had it with you. I want spring. I need spring. I don't need more snow. No, no more snow. Your tulips and daffodils have started poking their stalks through the dirt. Your sun is shining longer during the day. And now, today? The first sighting of a robin.

In the midst of a snowstorm.

A couple hours after these pictures were taken, I took this one:

Ugh.

Another Sign of Spring

Now that daylight savings has come, my morning drive to school is in the dark. I don't like this part, but I know that it helps with the day staying lighter later which I love. My classroom faces east, so I get to see some great sunrises out my windows in the morning while I get the classroom together.

The morning drive in the dark sometimes makes me feel like I have blinders on. The route is a pretty straight shot, so most of the time I'm on autopilot. But the other day something caught my eye.

Dairy Queen is open.

Yes, it's only the first part of March, but Dairy Queen is open. Sometime in the fall, the plywood boards go up on the outside of the building. And in March, they come down. Even in the darkness the other morning, I saw this change. And what a welcome one it was.

Oh, These Kids

Everyday with these kids, I'm learning. I'm learning more about myself as a teacher, and I'm learning how fragile these kids are.

Fifth grade is all about being cool. If you dare to ask a question, you dare to look dumb. If you dare to read a book instead of writing a note to your neighbor, you dare to look like a nerd. Most kids just stay somewhere in the middle. They don't ask many questions, they make fun of others to look cool, and do a little work (but not too much) to avoid being the nerd. That's fifth grade in a nutshell.

But these kids? Not so easy to put them into a box. I am learning that, everyday. Last week was pretty eye-opening for me.

One day I called the girl-with-attitude's mom to tell her about the attitude issues, and was told that the girl had been with her biological mom the previous weekend. When she visits her mom, she comes back with an attitude problem. Apparently I wasn't the only receiver of the attitude. And apparently this wasn't the first time this has happened. The girl-with-attitude is living with her biological dad and his girlfriend for the past two years. Soon the dad's girlfriend will be his wife.

Another day I found gang-graffiti on one of my rough boy's folder. When I looked inside, I saw some gang-related artwork that he printed off the internet. I immediately told the Principal, and he was called into her office. As she talked to him about the artwork and what it all meant, she also asked him if he knew why people joined gangs. When she emphasized the need to belong, he burst into tears. His father left last year. He misses him. He doesn't have any male figures in his life.

Another one of my rough boys, the not-so-nice one, doesn't have it any easier. He lives in a homeless shelter. Each day he doesn't know if they'll sleep at the shelter, or if they'll be somewhere else. He and his brother take a cab to and from school, because this is what's provided by the shelter. His mom is a drug addict. He has seen more wrong things in his ten-year-old life than most adults have in a lifetime.

That is just three of nineteen kids in my class, but every other kid has challenges too. It makes a lot of sense then, that their behavior is so atrocious. They obviously are acting up for a reason. And I think the main reason is that they just want to be wanted. Want to be loved. I hope I can give them at least a little of what they want.

It's Official

When I pulled into the driveway the other day, I noticed a UPS truck pull up in front of our house. I figured that he was delivering something to our neighbor. Nope. It was for me. And inside? My diploma. I didn't think that I was actually going to get a diploma, since I didn't get another degree. (The program I completed is designed for people who already have their bachelor's degree. So now I am certified.)

But the diploma made it all seem official. There's nothing like seeing your name written in calligraphy to make you feel that way.