Less than 3 weeks ...

.... of school left.

So. Psyched.

Can't come any sooner.

SO HECTIC

Such a busy, busy time!

School is almost done!! Can't believe it!

Clocks

I'm starting a new math unit with my class on time. One of the activities for this unit is to have students make their own clocks. So they coloured the template and pasted it onto a paper plate to make it more sturdy. The template even included a minute and hour hand (which I would fasten to their clocks so they could actually move around). I had a feeling that there would be at least one student who either lost their hands (not their own but those belonging to the clock) or cut them too teeny tiny that I couldn't fasten them on.

One of my students lost a minute hand so I told him to make another one so I can fasten it properly.

Doesn't the little bugger make a PAPER AIRLPLANE and give it to me saying, "Here's my arrow." Granted the plane had a point so I suppose it could be misinterpreted as being an arrow but compared to the 2-D, one inch arrow that he had started out with, one could clearly see that the very large paper plane would just not suffice.

Mother's Day Bonanza

I swear no holiday stresses me more than Mother's Day or Father's Day. Why you ask? Could it be because I always want to do something special and unique for my own parents, never giving them the same gift? Nope. Sadly my own parents are an after thought ... the first thought that comes in my head is, "What the hell am I going to get my students to make for their mom/dad??"

I busted out the popsicle sticks and started to build with it. My original idea was to have the kids make this container type thing where we would put tissue-paper and pipe-cleaner flowers in it. Or pencils. Anyways, it took me no time to finish mine but then I realized that I'm dealing with less dexterous midgets who not only take their sweet time when completing tasks but have not yet mastered the art of having a conversation and doing work simultaneously. Add on top of it them needing to paint the sucker so it doesn't just look like a bunch of wooden sticks glued together? Yeah. Scratch that. Problem is I have like a day to figure out something cute/useful/won't see the wastebin in the near future craft for them to bring home.

I went through this mother's day file that a friend of mine has and came across this cute poem that was like four lines that said something along the lines of: I've made this mat so that when you take a sip of tea you'll always think of me. Then I had this ureka moment. (How the hell do you spell that word?) I figured the popsicle sticks wouldn't go to waste afterall! They/I would make coasters for their moms and glue that poem (laminated of course) on top of the coaster. How cute and original. I basically made the damn things. I made 23 frames with the popsicle sticks and the kids had to then close off the top and bottom. They painted it. They decorated that piece of paper with the poem on it. I laminated those papers and cut them out. I glue-gunned the papers on each coaster. I glue-gunned the "jewels" that the kids picked out to have on the edges of the coaster to make it look pretty. I wrapped them. I glue-gunned a daisy in the middle of the wrapped product.

I think that this went well (though I was feverishly working all day on Friday with multiple hot glue burns on my hands) but it's a cute idea. I think for next year I'll do it again but this time maybe shellack the finished product.

Mother's Day down. Father's Day to go. Damnit.

*I technically started this post on Thursday but finished it today, Saturday.

Two Months Left

I cannot believe that there are 2 months left of school. My does time ever fly. I have nothing interesting going on other than the fact that I'm trying my best to finish up curriculum before I send the buggers off to grade 2.

Kids Say The Darndest Things

I hand out a phonics sheet for the students to complete. It's a rhyming sheet and they need to cut and paste the pictures that rhyme. One of the pictures is "dice" and the picture that needs to be pasted beside it is a picture of "mice". I guess some of these pictures are a bit confusing for some as some of them aren't sure what goes with what.

"I don't know what goes with mouse." My student shows me the picture of the 2 mice as she tells me this.

"That's not mouse. What's it called when there are two of them?"

Ever so softly she says, "Rat."

So cute ... I chuckled a bit and told her it was mice.

-----------------------------------------

There's this little boy in my school who looks exactly like Webster ... that tv character?

(this guy)

"You know, you look just like a person who's name is Webster!"

"Yeah ... a lot of people have told me that. I haven't seen a picture of him so I don't know what he looks like ... but I have his dictionary."

Fuckin classic.

What's the probability of a student not getting "Probability"?

Teaching probability can be fun. Especially the informal interviews that you should conduct nearing the end of a unit.

My students need to learn about the key words "sometimes, always, never" when talking about probability.

Example:

1. In the summer I sometimes go swimming.
2. In the summer I never wear my snowsuit.
3. In the summer I always have an ice cold beer on my patio every night.*

So the interview consisted of giving phrases and the students having to say sometimes, never or always. It also had me asking questions to them regarding things that they would sometimes, always and never do in some seasons.

A few snippets if you will:

"Ok, I'm going to read some sentences to you and for each one you need to tell me always, sometimes, or never."

"Always!"

"I haven't read any of them yet."

"Oh."

----------------------------------------------------

"What is something that you never do in the winter?"

"Never."

"No ... what's something that you NEVER do in the winter?"

"Always?"

"Ok .... what is an ACTIVITY that you would NEVER do in the winter?"

"Never."

"No ... an ACTIVITY! What's an ACTIVITY ... something that you DO .... what is an ACTIVITY that you would NEVER do in the WINTER?"

"Sometimes."

Oh ... dear God. Gotta love the 6 year olds. Seriously .... GOTTA love them.

I think I need that beer now as it is not something that I reserve only for the summers.

*Ok, I didn't use this one with them.