"Your husband's got the muscle!"....and other adventures

Well I am now more than half way through summer school teaching...and less than two weeks away from seeing Nolan in our new home Raleigh, NC! Last week was a busy week at summer school, and it went really well in most ways. However, I began to see the "honeymoon" phase fade a bit between me and my students. They are getting a little more comfortable testing the boundaries of our behavior management plan and are getting over the new excitement of new teachers. But overall, my students have been excellent and adorable (Although one boy did look me in the eye and tell me he wished I weren't his teacher because I am the only teacher who makes the class follow the rules and do school work...which is definitely not true and I'm looking at the bright side thinking that I am doing a good job enforcing the rules and encouraging them to do their work!).

After a few days of not knowing what to do with my small group of struggling readers during Academic Intervention Hour, we have been using some phonics activities and games. I am proud to report that all three of the students I work on during this time (the students at the lowest reading level in the class) passed their reading exam last week! I was super proud of them for practicing all the silly reading exercises I taught them! It's amazing how much students can improve in such a short time when someone really gives then one-on-one attention. We learned some new vocabulary words from our weekly story and made up motions for each one. I also started using the "reading wand" in small group reading time. The allure of the reading wand is growing by the day and the anticipation of who will get it and when is pretty intense. Students use the reading wand to follow along with the words when we read aloud and also to pass on good reading vibes when someone is reading a really hard word. One student decided to use the reading wand to turn "Mrs. P" into a princess so I didn't have to work anymore. Who knew that a plastic cocktail stirrer could be so exciting and create so much motivation! Definitely worth the $1.99 for an entire pack at Walmart!

On Friday, the other math teacher was at a wedding, so I got to teach both math blocks and be alone with my 12 students for the first time for 2 hours (I did implement mandatory jumping jacks between the two math blocks). By the end of the morning, just in time for the daily test, I think we were all sick of each other and ready for the weekend. So when a verbal competition started about who saw a picture of my husband on my phone and who didn't, this became my incentive for completing their tests. It absolutely worked and they were all thrilled to see a picture of Nolan...even the boys! When one girl looked at the picture, she excitedly exclaimed "Ms P! Your husband's got the muscle!" followed by one of the boys calling another boy over to see "Ms. P's jacked husband." Nolan should be very flattered haha. Just when the end of the day couldn't come soon enough, there was a little group of them gathered in the corner, and I was afraid of what they could be up to. I walked over and they started to sing "Happy Birthday Ms. P!" It was very sweet. I am getting so attached to these kiddos.

Since we had today off for the 4th of July, I headed to Memphis to spend the weekend with my long-time friend Kyle and his fiancee Gardner. It was super fun and a much needed break from all things teaching! I ate some great food, went to a minor league baseball game, and even took a nap. Now it's back to lesson planning...and more lesson planning....

Miss everyone! :o)