Back...well, sort of

Summer is here! 

Things have been nutty around the Cunningham abode; we could not have fit one more event into May. May is the new December if you ask me. Things have been really busy. School as finished, jobs have finished, interviews have started, a move happened in there somewhere and now we have landed on the other side of the Equator. Chile is our home for the next three weeks.

I don't know if I will update or have the desire while we are here. I am considering our time away "my recovery"... something I am in desperate need of. But, if I were to venture a guess, I will probably update as adventures tend to happen here in our second home. 

For now, I would like to make a public service announcement for the good of the cause: When on an international overnight flight, do not assume that everyone goes to sleep when in-flight movie is over. That's right, "handsy" couple in 37J and 37H, I saw that make out session last night.... all of it. 

Kids say...

While I do have an entirely wonderful and full life outside of teaching, there were too many priceless teaching moments to ignore this week. One of my favorite elements of teaching is how kids phrase things... you could not script this stuff. Enjoy!

When talking about about the thunderstorm this week and how it made all of us feel, one my intensely-eager-external-processors, exclaimed, "Mrs. Cunningham! That thunder scared me right down to the bottom!" 

As I was checking this kids' fish poems this week, I found one that stood out dramatically. Students were supposed to follow a pattern of "describing" words to talk about their fish. One of my more reflective students was writing a really great poem about her fish called "Rainbow". Well, instead of writing "rainbow", she wrote "Rambo." So her poem read...

Rambo

Beautiful dancing

Spinning color

Rambo

I can see you

Hiding

Beautiful dancing

Rambo

We have been working on using "second grade" words when we talk (all that really means is better vocabulary then "good", "nice" and my favorite "cool"). Well one little boy raised his hand while we were writing the fish poems, clearly very eager to share a story with me. When I asked him what was going on, he said "Well, I wanted you to know that before I existed my parents had a fish. But for some reason when I starting existing they had to get rid of it!"

One of my more "challenging" students has a really hard time focusing. I have to "redirect him" roughly eight times an hour (the reason I know this is because I take an incredible amount of data on this child)! We were lining up for lunch on Wednesday and he was looking particularly confused. I couldn't tell what was going on, but I was curious because of the very difficult morning we had just had. So, I got down on my knees, looked him in the eye and inquired about his apparent confusion. This was our conversation...

 "Mrs. Cunningham, I can't believe it's lunch time."

"Why?" I asked in a sweet, calm teacher-voice.

"Because I didn't know I was here for all the morning time."

"Wow" I replied, trying not to think: No wonder we had such a awful morning!

And then he exclaimed with unmistakable excitement...

"I think my brain was sleeping, while my eyes were awake!!!"

I am so excited I have finally reached the weekend!

Reality Check!

With the peace of Spring Break behind me and the glory of Summer ahead, I returned to school on Monday. The first day back was idyllic: children followed directions, I received many "love notes" (pictures and notes from my students), lessons were taught, concepts were mastered and it was "an all green day" (which basically boils down to "no one was bad"). I came home feeling energized by the success and flow of the day. All was well.

Today, however, was a very different day. One of those days were somewhere in the middle I found myself thinking, "I really do spend my entire day with six-year-olds". 

The day was thick, one that I had to drag myself through. Despite my effort, most of my lessons finished dry and slightly boring. Reviews of yesterdays concepts revealed that little was understood or retained. And the behavior was... unbelievable... peaking when one of my "friends" decided that the paper mache looked so much like frosting that he should in-fact take a bite of his creation. 

The difference in these two days is not recognized as uncommon by elementary teachers. This is the ebb and flow of our work. We base our work around six-year-olds who in their own development are changing dramatically in a short period of time. 

I must, however, mention a small highlight in my day. With today being the first of April, I spent a part of yesterday explaining what April Fool's Day means. I talked about how sometimes it is fun to tell silly jokes to friends that end in "April Fool's!!!" As fate would have it, I heard nearly 20 April Fool's jokes today! Here are some of my favorites:

"Mrs. Cunningham, guess what?"

"What?"

"My mom broke both of her legs last night!"

"Really, what happened?"

"APRIL FOOL'S!!!!!)

"Mrs. Cunningham, did you know I have an elephant at home?"

"Oh really!"

"Yeah, he lives in my room (long enough pause to attract the attention of his peers)......... even on days that aren't April Fool's!"

(The odd thing about this one, was there wasn't really a punch line. I wonder if he really thinks...)

"Mrs. Cunningham, guess what happened last night?"

"What?"

"My mom changed her name last night."

"Really? To what?"

"Cinderella"

"Wow!"

"APRIL FOOL'S!!!"

Five minute pause....

"Mrs. Cunningham, wouldn't it be cool if my mom really did change her name to Cinderella?"

My Giant

I have a younger brother named Peter who up until a mere six years ago, I referred to as my "little" brother. I am two years older and because of this honor, had full authority and leadership over him throughout our childhood. As a child, I was notorious for getting Peter into precarious situations and holding him hostage, until my parents came and rescued him. I would make him be "the dog" while playing "house" (leash included), "time him" as he went and got things for me... your basic power-happy-older-sibling-manipulation, really. 

My rule and reign over Peter, however, ended abruptly one day. 

We had been left home alone for an evening and we started fighting about something. (Prior to this event, our fights would consist of your basic sibling exchanges of verbal and physical punches in which I ALWAYS came out victorious.) But, that evening was different. Our fight began as normal, following your basic teenage fight format "You little ____"/"I am going to ____ you"/"If you even ____, I will _____". However, somewhere in the middle of the fight, after saying something that really made him mad, Peter lunged towards me, picked me off the ground by my shoulders, looked me dead in the eye and said, "If you ever say that to me again or touch me, I will hurt you." As he let me go, I fell to the ground stunned. It was then that I realized that he really was bigger than me. Somewhere in the midst of my reign and rule, he had grown over a foot taller than me, gained a significantly lower voice and had enough physical presence to shut me up. 

I was no longer the boss.

I have since come to terms with the fact that I can no longer boss Peter around and wouldn't dare enter into a physical contest of strength. I have settled into my stature and assumed a less powerful dominion. I now refer to Peter as "my giant"... simply because he is. From my vantage point, he is huge. 

Well, apparently I remark about his height quite a bit, even to my students. Yesterday, as we were talking about how some trees in the rain forest are over 15 feet tall, we began comparing 15 feet to things we can see. The conversation went like this...

"Are they bigger than our cars?" Girl A asked.

"Yes", I replied to stunned little faces.

"Are they bigger than the swings?" Boy A asked.

"Yes", I said. 

"Are they bigger than our principal?" Girl B asked.

"Yes", I said in the midst of "wow" and "whoa" swirling around me.

And then I called on Boy B.

"Boy B?"

And in a hushed, shockingly reverent voice, Boy B asked, "Mrs. Cunningham are they bigger than your brother?"

"Yes, they are, Boy B." I replied softly.

"Wow," he said. "They must be really huge".

A little poem

I came into school on Thursday morning and found this poem on my desk...

"Mrs. Cunningham is sweet as honey

she likes to be funny.

Everyone knows she has a heart full of gold."

You have got to love the cheesiness that comes with being an elementary school teacher!

The Birthday Boy

We had a birthday in our class today! The little guy was very excited about turning 7 (which is considered a VERY big feat among first graders). He is one of my "high needs" students, someone who requires constant monitoring and supervision. I was warned about this one at the beginning of the year. Tales from his previous teachers poured into my room like warning sirens. He entered my room with a file folder FULL of accommodations, modifications, interventions and specialists notes. I was terrified to meet this kid...

And now, with the first of March coming, I can say that every one of those traumatized teachers was correct! He is a handful and requires the amount of supervision that a three year old needs. I have to remind him of VERY basic socially appropriate behaviors nearly 10 times a day. He is nuts. He sees more specialists than I can count. He does nothing independently and is always within an arms reach of my frantic grip. 

But... today was his birthday. And if you have a birthday in Room 26, regardless of your learning ability, behavior patterns, special needs, or "nuttiness", you will be celebrated. 

And just as we were about to sing "Happy Birthday", I saw the birthday boy suck his thumb and pick his nose at the same time, with the same hand... and I let him be. 

If I were president...

Today's writing prompt was "If I were president..." and I thought you might be interested to read what our future may hold...

"If I were president, I would make more things for boys and more Legos. I would make toys because they make kids happy."

"If I were president, I will stay up late because I love to stay up late so you can sit at the computer. And watch TV and video games."

(From my student who is ALWAYS needing to be reminded that we "walk" in the halls) 

"If I were president, I will not let anyone walk. Only running and jumping. They will  go to jail if they walk, even if it is a accident."

And finally...

"If I were president, I can help poor people get stuff  by buying them stuff and make bad guys be good. That I will do if I were president. I will make the bad guys be good by teaching them to be good."

Where most of my entertainment comes from

This is my second year as a first grade teacher and I can confidently claim that I have one of the most entertaining jobs on the planet. Regardless of how seamlessly I think I have planned and prepared for the day, there is no telling what is going to happen! Six-year-olds have a remarkable way of adding "spice" to my life. 

For example, I was in the middle of a math lesson yesterday when I heard a scream coming from the front of the room. When I asked the "screamer" what the problem was, he pointed to the door and said "LOOK!" There in the middle of my inviting, friendly, colorful doorway to endless learning experiences was... a pair of children's underwear. 

What happened at work yesterday for you?!