1. Cool Beans! We reached our "Cool Beans" goal!! Whoot! If your familiar with our class, you know about our "Cool Beans" positive reward incentive. Students can earn stickers on their chart for positive behaviors. An example would be when I see a student sitting the way they are supposed to on the carpet (which can be difficult for Kindergarten), I might say, "I love the way (insert name here) is sitting on the carpet! When we are finished with reading (he/she) can get a sticker!" I've noticed that I don't "catch" students as often as I used to, and I know that the more I do it, the more positive behaviors I will get back from my students. When students get 20 stickers, they turn their chart in for a reward, they can choose a ticket to wear slippers in class one day, to be the line leader for a day, or to bring a fluffy friend to class for a day (this is my best TpT purchase to date. Check it out here). I might have to reprint some tickets. It's time to switch out rewards but I can't find them (I'm sure they are in a SAFE place)!! When a student fills their chart we also do a Kagan? Dr. Jean? (not sure who? I want to give credit, but I am not sure who's they are) cheer for them and then we get a "big bean" on our Cool Beans bulletin board. Another thing we do is we get whole class beans for good choices or good class behaviors. When we get 20 cool beans in our cool beans can, we get a big bean on the bulletin board. So... we filled the board (20 beans). The last Cool Beans party we had we voted and the vote was 10 for the last reward we chose and 9 for the pajama party, so we agreed that we would have a pajama party for our next reward. So... we got our 20 beans, and earned a pajama party. On Thursday we could wear pajamas to school and if our work was finished we could watch a movie instead of doing our handwriting and we got juice boxes. It was a happy ending to our short week.
2. Look at this picture of Sweet to the point being Rotten. I haven't see her for Oh.... five or six days! She even had a hug for her Auntie Carrie last night! Oh the Joy! Ani, my baby, you are completely a flower, a Marigold to me, a happy, hardy, perky flower that is absolutely perfect. I couldn't convince your Mommy and Daddy to name you Chrysanthemum, or Delphinium, or Marigold. But every time you see a Marigold, remember how much Aunt Carrie loves you and what a miracle it is that you came to all of us, your Mom and sissies especially. You'll probably never know just HOW loved you are and how much healing your life has given but I am grateful to be a part of your life, your Mommy's life, and to know your Daddy and your sisters.
3. Easter break. Ahhhh. I am grateful for the break. I am more grateful for the chance to celebrate my beliefs. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful for my "Mom" who is technically no longer my Mom (10 years and counting now) but who will still greet me on Easter morning with a hearty "He is risen!" And I will respond with an equally emotional, "He is risen indeed!"
4. Home. I am home. I am sitting in The Well, sipping a Mocha and blogging and just breathing. I would not normally do this but I am getting tires on my car. All these road trips are hard on the tires. My heart is torn and I have expressed this a lot lately. And I will continue to because I was taught that you talk about it until it stops hurting. For people like me, it is dangerous not to talk about feelings. I am super excited to be sitting her in central Kansas in Mactown and enjoying my community. I have lived her for seven years (prior to our move to the Panhandle), and it is more home to me than the community I grew up and raised my first set of children in. It is home to the core. But I nearly teared up yesterday when discussing some school issues with my principal. She was a Kindergarten teacher last year, a perfect principal for this first year teacher. And she is vibrant, helpful, and totally invested in the success of both her students and her teachers. I am so fortunate. And my heart is heavy that I am leaving my teaching sisters at Academy C and my community of learners and their parents as well as the principal. These things make me sad and cause me to question my choice to move back even though I have no job waiting for me. But then I get here and I really am home. The closer we get, the faster I talk, the more I smile and laugh and get really giddy and it is really sort of exhausting when the adrenaline wears off. Last week I didn't even notice how excited I was until after I ran into my cooperating teacher from student teaching who is now my friend and she's also a sister in Christ which is hugely comforting because I know that she truly wants the best for all, she is so unselfish. Wow, I am on an emotional roll, huh? Can you feel the adrenaline (and the coffee drink)? Anyway, after seeing her, I walked away and my mind was RACING and I realized that I was probably talking fast and making a lot of gestures and acting a little like I was on speed because the adrenaline was really pumping. *ah....* and I was SO tired when it wore off. Whew.
 |
| My home that I love and miss and cannot wait to move back to. |
 |
| The coffee drink I indulged in at The Well, even though I did not need it! |
 |
| I think I am missing a 7th grader in this photo but I had to crop out a kiddo who does not have a media consent :( |
No comments:
Post a Comment