Chapter 16: Franklin's Finale

Well, we made it!  We have officially reached our half-way point in the school year.  I really can not believe how fast this semester has gone.  So many milestones and memories - I am blessed.

We spent this past week reviewing all of the elements we have learned since the first week of school.  In reviewing and discussing everything with the students, I realized just how much they have already learned!  My little darlings are getting smarter every day.  I am excited to see how much more growth and success they achieve by the end of May!

I know you are anxiously awaiting the Franklin update - so here you go!

I guess Franklin had a busy weekend at the North Pole, because when we got to school Monday he had dumped the books out of our Blue Book Bucket and was enjoying a nice warm bubble bath.

On Tuesday, Franklin barricaded our classroom door...
We had to climb through the yarn rope to get in.
When the kids walked in, they looked at me like "what is going on? how do I get in?!"  One of my friends decided to slide his little body underneath the rope!  They had fun with this!

Franklin brought "Magic Quiet Dust" from Santa on Wednesday.
(which consisted of glitter thrown all over the tables)
Our school also had a special visit from Santa on Wednesday, too!

Thursday was The Polar Express day!  We started our day by playing in classroom snow! (I simply used white shaving cream on the tables!)  We made snowmen and wrote our names and spelling words, all while giving our tables a good, deep cleaning.  After lunch we watched the movie, in our pj's, with the classroom chairs set up like a train.  I also served everyone a cup of hot chocolate (made in the crock-pot) with marshmallows!

Franklin decided that he would play "I Spy with My Little Eyes the Good Girls and Boys" on Thursday!

Friday was a 60% day for the students, and also the day of our Class Holiday Party!  So many fun things happened on Friday!  I don't know who had more fun - the teacher or the kids.  HA!
After our brunch, which was really lunch at breakfast time, we set up the classroom for our party!  The kids were munching away on a few snacks, including some reindeer cookies made by yours truly, when we received a special delivery.
Here's a picture of the reindeer cookies:

Two large bags from our Secret Pen Pal arrived just in time!  Each student got a letter and a wrapped box of fun toys.  The kids loved that special surprise!  I hope their Secret Pen Pal realizes how special my students felt when they opened their present - it was a moment of joy I will never forget.  :)

After the Secret Pen Pal presents were opened, I let them open their gifts from me.  They were so sweet and thankful for their gift.  "Mih Lemon, we love you.  You are the best teacher in the whole world!  You are just so awesome!"  I  so enjoyed watching them open presents and scream in excitement - that's what Christmas is all about.

Franklin really decided to go out with a "bang" on Friday...
(I have to give props to my Pop for this fantastic idea!)
Pop found a popcorn machine for a very reasonable price that he just insisted on me purchasing.  He told me to set the popcorn machine to a timer and have it go off one day, to make it like Franklin turned it on....
It was perfect!
I set the timer for 11:00am.  It went off a few minutes early, approx 10:45am, right in the middle of our party. As soon as it clicked on, PANIC struck.  The machine makes a loud humming noise when it's warming up, and the kids really freaked out...  A few of them walked closer to the machine to check it out.  After about 30 seconds, BAM!  Popcorn started flying everywhere...literally everywhere!  I thought they screamed when they opened presents, but no, this experience called for many screams and looks of shock and laughter.  They could not understand how Franklin turned that machine on - or if Santa knew what Franklin had done.
Here's Franklin before the explosion:

 And here he is after...

(there was popcorn all over the floor, too!)
"Oh my gaahhh, Mih Lemon, Franklin is real!!!!!!!  Aahh!!  How he do that?"

As busy and stressful and tiring as this past week has been, I am truly grateful for the opportunity to share this experience of Christmas magic with my sweet 1st graders.  Franklin has been such a wonderful addition to our classroom!  The innocence of a little mind wondering and imagining the magic of Santa and his elves is beyond amazing.  I pray for my students every day and night - and I have been saying extra prayers for them during this special Christmas season.  I pray especially for their health and happiness.  I hope they enjoy their Christmas and break from school as much as I plan to do - but I'm anxious to see them again soon!

I'll leave you in 2011 with this picture:
I had the students helping me clean the classroom before leaving school on Friday.  This little fellow wanted to clean the pig that we put our trash can in - so I let him go for it!  I turned around and found this...

Please keep in mind that he did this to himself!  HA!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from "Ms. Lemon's" 1st Grade Class!
See you in 2012!

Chapter 15: Franklin Fun

Here is an update from this past week in 1st Grade!

We've been learning about:
-complete subject
-complete predicate
-composing simple sentences
-complete sentence vs. fragment
-addition & subtraction through 20
-motivation is necessary to make it to Christmas
-our elf is very entertaining!

Franklin, our class elf, has been up to some mischief this week...

Franklin obviously had fun playing with Mr. Bojangles & Snoop Frog over the weekend, because when we got to school Monday here's what we found!

On Tuesday, Franklin brought a Special Delivery from our Secret Pen Pal!

Franklin brought snow on Wednesday!

(not only was his "special" snow all over our classroom, there was real snow falling outside!)

We have been decorating our classroom for Christmas, and Franklin decided he needed to help, too.  Here's what we found on Thursday...

And finally, on Friday, Franklin decided he needed to relax with a Diet Coke and some good books!

The kids really love Franklin!  They are precious when they walk in every morning - it's like a frantic search for Franklin!  I have noticed them looking at him during the day to make sure he's still watching.  I think they are a bit freaked out by the whole idea of this little guy playing tricks on them, though.

Everyone wrote a letter to Santa, some of which will be printed in the area newspapers, and they were hysterical!
"I really want to meet your Fs."
"I have ben haf good and haf bad but I promis to be good next yer."
"I love you Santa.  Please bring me some good toys.  I will be sure to have you some cookies.  If I forget just come wake me up and I will bake you some."

This is our last week of school for the year 2011!
I'm sure Franklin will be up to more adventures, so stay tuned to see what happens!
Please pray for strength and patience to make it through Friday...

Chapter 14: Meet Franklin

Sorry it has been a while - it is hard finding time to sit down and write these days.  I updated you before Thanksgiving, but lots has happened since then!

What we are learning in 1st Grade:
-prepositions
-object of prepositions
-complete subject
-complete predicate
-making a simple sentence
-adding and subtracting to 20
-weather/clouds
-life as a scientist
-frogs are a lot of work...
-Santa's elf is watching us!

                                 Here is picture of my November door:

The little feathers are part of our "Turkey Teacher" fundraiser.  The teacher with the most feathers won a turkey & the class received a party.  Sadly, my class did not win.  But, we had fun participating!

I had to take the frogs, Mr. Bojangles and Snoop Frog, home during Thanksgiving break...
A very helpful Petsmart employee informed me that the frogs would not live for 9 days without being fed...Yay.  So, they traveled far and wide.  I'm not sure if it was more traumatic for them or for me.  They survived - and are still alive and well.  They will be traveling again during Christmas break.  Anyone want to frog-sit?  :)

Santa Clause has sent an Elf to our classroom!  His name is Franklin.
The kids LOVE Franklin - a lot!
Franklin has been up to some mischief, though.

Franklin arrived on Monday, November 28th.
When we arrived at school on Tuesday, Franklin had put everyone's behavior chart on RED face. (red face is not good) He was hiding on top of our storage cabinet looking down at the behavior chart...

After everyone was back from breakfast and the morning announcements were over, I closed the door and panic struck...
"Mih Lemon, what has happened?  Why is we all on red?  We ain't done nothin' bad; we just got to school!  Mih Lemon, what is we gonna do?"

On Wednesday, Franklin decided he liked the Reading Spot lamp...

On Thursday, Franklin decided to zip line across our Promethean Board...

Friday was School Picture Day, and Franklin wanted to participate, too!
(He took pictures of himself on the copy machine and hung them all around our classroom!)

I am looking forward to what Franklin gets in to this week!

1st Grade Funnies:
From another 1st Grade class - As a review, the teacher asked the students, "What are clouds made of?"
Student response, "Milk."

One of our journal prompts this week was "Yucky Foods."
One of my girls wrote, "I am alerjik to white milk."  I was not aware of this allergy, so I asked her what she drinks at lunch if she can't drink white milk.  She said "chocolate milk."
Has anyone ever heard of being allergic to white milk, but not chocolate milk, before?!

Another student wrote that a yucky food was "skotch potatoes."
It took us a few minutes of conversation for me to realize that he was trying to write "scalloped potatoes."

One student came in Friday morning and did not go to breakfast.
Me: "Don't you want to go to breakfast?"
Student: "No ma'am.  I ate at home."
Me: "What did you eat?"
Student: "Some serious."
Me: "Serious?  What is that?"
Student: "You know, serious, that stuff you put in milk and eat..."
Me: "Oh, cereal?!  You mean cereal?"
Student: "Yeah, that's what I said!"

We have been working hard this week - and we only have 2 more weeks until Christmas Break.
I really can't believe that we are almost half way done with this school year!

Stay tuned for more Franklin fun!

Chapter 13: "Batty" About Mail

After the Pumpkin Patch trip we continued to celebrate and discuss things we learned.

Me: "Where does milk come from?"
Student: "A cow."
Me. "Yes. Ok, where does chocolate milk come from?"
Student: "A brown cow."

Me: "Tell me something you learned about pumpkins at the farm."
Student: "If pumpkins are green, that means they are dead."
Me: "Well, not quite; but good try!"

What we are learning in 1st Grade:
-prepositions
-adding 3 numbers
-fact family math
-forms and reflections of light
-Bat facts

Here is a picture of our classroom door for the month of October:

                        (each student's face is in the door decorations!)

Since we have been learning about bats, we made some origami bats!  Check them out!

Here's a view of the wall outside of the classroom.
We displayed our origami bats and wrote stories: "Should people be afraid of bats?" and "Would a bat make a good pet?"

My grandfather built a mailbox for my classroom.  This mailbox is totally awesome!  I mean, it is real life size, and it is made to where the mailbox height can be adjusted for the students to reach.  (I'll post a picture of it once I complete the paint job - soon!)  My kids absolutely love the mailbox - and it is already getting lots of use!

My class has a Secret Pen Pal!  How fun is that?!  Each student received a hand-written letter on the day of our Fall/Harvest Party.  I told the students while they were gone to Music class that the mailman had come in and left something in our mailbox.  They immediately started to freak out.
"What he leave, Mih Lemon?  What he say?  Where he get the mail from?  Is it in the mailbox now?"
I did a count down with the students "3...2...1..."
Wild screaming and jumping for excitement began, and it took me about 15 minutes to calm them down!
Each student was allowed to come to the mailbox and check for a letter.  Of course, each student had their own personal hand-written letter.  It was like Santa Clause had come to my room!  They were so excited!
"Mih Lemon, did you write all these?  I think the mailman wrote these.  When he comin' back?  Do the mailman know when we write back?"  
After our party, I collected the letters and told them I would keep them in the mailbox until next week when we had a chance to write back.  Heart.Break.  OMG!  They were all but in tears having to give their letters back.  I felt terrible taking them away, but it was the smartest thing to do at that time.
We made time during this past week to write back to the Secret Pen Pal - and the letters were absolutely precious!  One student wrote back about her favorite food:  chicenogis   (chicken nuggets)
All of the letters read "I love my Secret Pen Pal.  I miss you."  
How sweet?! (No, they do not know who the secret pen pal is...)

Stay tuned for more Secret Pen Pal updates!
Since our Pen Pal is a secret,  you'll have to wait and find out who he/she is!

Next update I'll have a picture of our November classroom door and some more 1st Grade Funnies!
2 weeks until Thanksgiving Break...

Chapter 12: Pumpkin Patch

This update is going to make you laugh, at least once.  Guaranteed.

The 1st Grade classes took a trip to the Pumpkin Patch on Friday.
We had a blast!

Before our trip, the teachers decided to tie-dye some t-shirts for the kids to wear.  Two of the teachers found a recipe for tie-dye using kool-aid and vinegar.  We decided that since we are on a teacher's budget, we would give it a try!  We went to the local grocery story and purchased approximately 135 packets of kool-aid and a large bottle of vinegar, and away we went.  We had fun tie-dying the shirts, and we were pumped that we made it work!  The shirts were supposed to dry for 24 hours, then we were supposed to iron them, and finally wash and dry them.  One of the teachers called me Thursday evening in a panic, "Have you washed your shirts yet?"  Luckily, I had not.  She said, "Well don't.  My shirts are white."
All the dye had washed out......AH!
She ended up purchasing some t-shirt dye that you can put in the washing machine, and then painted pumpkins on each shirt.  She is so creative!  They turned out absolutely precious!

The other teacher and I decided that we didn't have time to re-dye our shirts, so we just put them in the dryer with some fabric softeners...

When we got to school the next morning, we laid out the t-shirts and were getting ready for our trip.  (I was a bit apprehensive about this whole field trip idea, seeing as how it was my first one as a real teacher...)
The shirts smelled terribly of vinegar...
"Mih Lemon, why my shirt stank?"
...excessive sneezing and coughing...
The other teacher came into my room laughing hysterically because one of her students said "this shirt smell like pickled eggs..."
All we could do was laugh...

For those of you who live near the area, we went to Fiddlin' Rooster Farm.  The owners and staff at the Farm are top-notch.  They organize field trip that will make even a teacher's head spin!
The farm is set up with 15 different stations for the students to visit.  Each station lasts around 10 or 15 minutes, and they have activities that engage learning at each station.  It was seriously awesome!
(I tried to get a picture of the kids at each station, but I am going to be cautious of posting due to privacy concerns.)

1. Animals:  We learned about pigs, chickens, goats, and donkeys.
Did you know that chickens with red ears lay brown eggs?  And chickens with white ears lay white eggs?
Also, a chicken can lay 5 to 6 eggs per day.  Pretty cool!
                                   Here's a neat picture of a chicken:

2. Roping: The kids could practice roping a pretend cow and hula hooping!
                       Here's a picture of Mih Lemon with the hula hoop:

3. Hay Ride: We piled up on a big tractor trailer and rode to the Cotton Field, Corn Maze, and Pumpkin Patch!
4. Cotton Field: The kids learned about cotton plants and each stage of a cotton bud's life, and they also got to feel cotton.  They learned about how people used to hand pick cotton and how they would weigh their daily wages.
5. Corn Maze: We learned about corn stalks and how they grow, the life cycle of corn, and some things that corn is used to make.  Then we had a "Corn Cop" lead us through the maze!
6. Pumpkin Patch: Here the kids learned about how pumpkins grow, what is inside of them, and what all you can use pumpkins to make.  Each student also got to pick their own pumpkin to take home!
7. Lunch Break
8. Butter: Each student was given a small cup of milk with a lid on it.  As the staff member told the students about cows and things their milk is used for, the students were instructed to shake their cups of milk.  The milk eventually turned into butter - way cool!
                              Here is a picture of the Cow information:

9. Corn: Here the students got to see how corn is taken off of the cob, how it is ground up, and learned about different things corn is used for.  They each got a small cornbread muffin to dip into their butter to eat!  It was very yummy!
10. Cow Train: The farm has a train of barrel cars connected together that are painted like cows.  I got some really good pictures of the kids riding the cow train!
11. Wagon Wheel:  At this station the students learned about how people used to travel in wagons.  They got to see where the luggage went, how bonfires were made, and how difficult traveling really was.  The staff member at this station also played the fiddle and taught the kids how to dance around him in a circle.  This part was lots of fun!
                                   Here is a picture of the old wagon:

12. Duck Races:  This station was made up of 10 water pumps.  The students learned about the advantages of now indoor plumbing and running water.  At each pump, there was a gutter going towards the other side of the station.  Each water pump had a little plastic duck in it, and the kids got to race their ducks to the other side.
13. Barn Slide: The farm has turned a barn house into a fun house!  They have a huge tunnel slide coming out of the barn - and the kids came out super fast!
                   Here is a picture of Mih Lemon coming down the slide:

14: Barrel Swing: They have a huge swing made out of a big barrel (like the slide) that the kids could take turn swinging on.
15. Corn Pool: On the side of the barn house, there is a big pool of corn that the kids can play in!  They had lots of fun playing in a pool of corn...who would have thought?!

Overall, this field trip was a success!  We got a little later start than originally planned, but everything worked out perfectly in the end.  The staff at the Farm was more than welcoming and helpful during our whole trip.  We had a wonderful experience!

On the 45 minute bus ride back to school, the kids enjoyed talking about what they learned...
while their exhausted teacher took a little nap.

Chapter 11: Snoop Frog

It has been a few weeks since my last update.  Finding time to update here lately has been tough!  So many things going on, and so little time.  Anyway, here is an update of the past 2 weeks:

What we have learned in 1st Grade:

-article adjectives (a, an, the)

-addition & subtraction

-classifying plants & animals

-reading can be fun!

-class pets are a lot of work...

Yes, you read that correctly; class pets...

We have a new member to our class family.  We already had Mr. Bojangles, you remember, I'm sure.  Well yet again, on the playground the kids caught another frog.  I figured it would be ok to keep this one so that Mr. BoBo would have a friend.

I let the kids vote on a name for the new frog.  I picked a few choices and then let them vote.  Here are the results:

Albert - 8

Buffy - 2

Lucille - 0

Snoop Frog - 9

Snoop Frog & Mr. Bojangles are happy in their new home with each other!  

                                            Here are a few pics of them:

               Mr. Bojangles & Snoop Frog in their new home: Planet Frog

                                               playing "Leap Frog"

                                  Mr. Bojangles having a nice swim

                   Snoopy is smaller and much more lady-like than Mr. Bo

One of my closest friends, who teaches 3rd grade at my school, came up with a great idea.  She brought her class of 3rd graders to my 1st grade class to have a "Buddy Read" time together.  We paired up one (a few groups of two) 1st graders per one 3rd grader.  The 3rd grade student read a book of their choice to a 1st grader.  And then the 1st graders got to choose a book and read it to their 3rd grade partner.  I have lots of pictures of the Buddy Read, and some pictures of all of us together.  I plan to do an article write-up and send it to the newspaper!  The students had a wonderful time meeting and reading with their partner!  We will continue to Buddy Read once a month.  It was a great success! :)

1st Grade Funnies:

Student: "Mih Lemon, I got a cricket in my neck."

Me: "A cricket?  How did you get a cricket in your neck?"

Student: "I don't know, but he hurts."

Me: "I'm sorry that silly ole cricket is in your neck, maybe he'll come out later today."

In one of our journal entries the students had to write a complete sentence about A Flying Alligator.  One of the sentences read:  "A big fresh flying alligator."

Do you know what the meaning of "fresh" in that sentence is?  "Cool."

Student: "Mih Lemon, I had a asident."

Me: (thinking to myself "not again!!")  "An accident?  Where?"

Student: "In my pants."

Me: "Why?"

Student: "Because I had to sneeze and it came out..."

Luckily, there was not much of an accident, so everything was fine!

We have been on Fall Break for the beginning of this week, and I have truly enjoyed the time off to rest and recuperate.  We have 3 days of school left this week.  And 3 days of school next week due to Report Card Day and a Field Trip.  

Thanksgiving Break will be here soon!   

Chapter 10: Potty Break

It has been a very busy, crazy 2 weeks since my last post...

1st grade has been learning:
-adjectives (what kind?, which one?, how many?)
-how to add & subtract 10 using your brain
-addition
-subtraction
-potty training is a necessity


Mr. Bojangles is 'Movin' On Up' in the world.  He got a new home!  I ordered him a "Live Frog Habitat" with some of my classroom money, and it is awesome!  Mr. BoBo absolutely loves it!  I'll have a picture update for you to see it soon.  It has little plants, hills, a sleeping cave, and lots of swimming room.  He is toadally cool now!  The coolest part is that now the kids get to watch him eat the crickets!  Their response to seeing him eat a cricket for the first time was, "Ew, Mih Lemon, that so nasty..."

Prepare yourself - these next few stories are a bit graphic...
3 of the 4 First Grade classes go to recess together everyday at 12:00noon.  All of the students know the rules and boundaries of the playground.  I looked around to see one little girl run around the side of the school.  I thought she was playing "Hide and Seek", so I told one of my students to run around there and tell her to come back to where we could see her.  My student came back and couldn't hardly talk because of the shock and laughter on her face.  I asked her what happened, and she replied "Mih Lemon, I can't tell you what had happened."  After a few seconds of me trying to get some information out of her, she said "That girl was ova there taking a pee."  ..................................
Oh my!  What do you say to that?  AH!
Sure enough, a few moments later, the little girl came walking around the corner with her pants unzipped.  Her teacher asked her what she was doing, and the little girl replied, "I had to use it real bad, and I couldn't make it to the bathroom."

After recess, later in the day, a little boy in another 1st grade class decided he wanted to show a little girl his "middle spot" (which is what they refer to their privates as).  While sitting at the table, he unzipped his pants, pulled his "middle spot" out, turned it to the side, and tee-teed on the floor.  On. Purpose.
He knew good and well what he was doing!  Thankfully, he was not in my class, because I would have had a nervous breakdown...

The very next day, after I had laughed about other teacher's having to deal with bathroom incidents, it happened to me.  I had 2 students wet themselves in the same day.  Yay me.
One little girl was sitting at my reading table and got this "Oh NO" look on her face.  When I asked her what was wrong, she said, "I'm peeing.  I didn't know I needed to go."  I was in such shock I didn't know what to do.  (in her defense, she has started taking a new dosage of medicine, so she was not able to control her bladder)
Then, after recess, my class was in line at the restroom and the little girl who was literally next to walk in looked at me and said "I can't hold it."  I hurried her into the bathroom so she could make it in time.  (she never once told me she needed to go, and that it was an emergency)  As she was walking into the bathroom, I saw it.....She tee-teed standing right in the doorway of the bathroom.
Lucky me - 2 in one day!

Hopefully we have gotten over our bathroom issues, and no more accidents will happen.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Here are some 1st Grade funnies:
One of my reading groups is learning about dinosaurs and fossils.  In the story there is a section about a scientist.  The scientist is studying dinosaur fossils, so I asked the students if they were scientists what they would want to study...
"cats
grass
dinosaurs
doctors"

We have been learning about plants and how to classify them.  I asked the kids to tell about some of the plants they have growing at their houses.  One little girl said, "I have a pineapple tree in my backyard."
"WOW!  Pineapple tree?!  I love pineapple!  Will you bring me one?!" - me
"mmhmm, I'll bring you one tomorrow."
The next morning she comes to school and is so excited to bring me my "pineapple."
She reached in her backpack, and with a very proud smile, she pulled out a pine cone.  :)
(we learned that pineapple trees don't grow in Mississippi)

We made bracelets out of pipe cleaners and beads that had letters on them.  I told the students to get a bead for each of their initials.  (MKL would be mine)
Some students have more than one middle name, so they were allowed to get as many beads as they needed. However, some students didn't even know their middle names.  Before they could make their bracelets, I had to walk around and make sure they had the letters in the right order.  I also wanted them to tell me their full names.  One little boy, the one we call "grandpa" had the letters (JDW).  I asked him what "D" stood for, and he said "Dawoosie; that's what my momma call me sometimes."  We then had a mini-lesson on the difference between a 'nickname' and a 'middle name'.

Before leaving school on Friday, the same little boy looked at me with the sweetest eyes and the most precious smile and said, "Mih Lemon, I wuv you."
That is why I am a teacher.  :)

We are starting our 8th week of school on Monday.
2 weeks until Fall Break
7 weeks until Thanksgiving
10 weeks until Christmas

Time is flying by!

Chapter 9: Accident Report

1st grade has been a little stressful these past two weeks...

Even though this week was a 4 day week because of the Labor Day holiday, it was the most stressful yet.

On Tuesday I had a student get injured while on the playground.  She was playing with a group of kids on the slide, and someone fell on her arm.  She came to me and said her arm hurt and had some tears, of course.  I asked her to move her arm and I gently touched it to see if I felt anything odd.  She moved her arm and everything seemed fine.  I had her sit beside me for a few minutes to make sure she was going to be alright, and then asked her if her arm felt ok.  She said yes, so I asked her if she wanted to go back out on the playground and play.  She said yes, and that was the end of it.....so I thought.

The next morning when I got to school I found out that the little girl had to go to the emergency room for x-rays on her arm, and ultimately have 2 pins put into her elbow.

I was sick at myself all day because I somehow felt responsible.  I did not fill out an accident report or notify a parent of the accident - it completely slipped my mind.  However, in my defense, I asked the little girl a few times throughout the day if she was ok and she kept saying, "yes ma'am."

Let's face it - accident's happen.  I now know to call or notify a parent if a student complains of a headache, stomachache, or even sneezes too hard.  Better safe than sorry, right?

This week (and the week before) in 1st grade we learned:

-adverbs (how, when, where)

-addition

-subtraction

-how to write a sentence composed of a noun, verb, and adverb

-basic idea of classifying animals

-accidents happen

Here are a few 1st grade funnies:

One of our journal topics for this week was "A Pig at a Party."  The kids had to write the sentence "My birthday is ______."  Then they had to illustrate a picture of a pig at their birthday party.  

One student decided to draw a pig boo-booing all over her paper...

She had to re-do her entire journal entry (and I kept the boo-boo picture for myself).

I had a note from a parent on her child's progress report to please call her regarding a test grade.  This parent is wonderful - always stays involved with homework and is very supportive.  I received the note on Wednesday, and honestly, I have no free time during the day, so I forgot to call her on Wednesday. And I forgot to call her on Thursday.  So I made it my priority to call her on Friday.  When I apologized for it taking me a few days to call her, she said "It's ok, he said he kept reminding you to call me, but that you would probably forget anyway; you were probably on the phone with that little girl's parent who drew the pig boo-booing on her paper..."

*I use inventive spelling in my classroom - meaning I tell the students to write the sounds they hear when sounding out a word.  The only time I correct their spelling is when they write in their journals.  If they misspell a word, I write it correctly underneath their word and tell them that if they saw that word in a book or on paper that's how it would be spelled.* (you need to know that for these stories!)

I decided to do some cute crafty ideas for Grandparent's Day.  I had a "Super Grandparent" ribbon for the kids to color.  They made their own "Happy Grandparent's Day" cards with construction paper (where they were allowed to write or draw anything they wanted).  And I painted their handprints on a sweet little poem.

Some things the cards said: "You all way giv me ane thing I wont.", "I will nevr furgit you.", "You mak me smil."

Also, the handpaint was obviously not a good idea...one little boy decided to go in the bathroom, and instead of washing his hands like I instructed him to do, he decided to put blue handprints all over the wall....Yay.

Don't worry, he paid the consequences - he had to clean the walls, change his face on the behavior chart, and was no longer allowed to be the 'leader' for the day.

We teach Health on Fridays.  We have been talking about healthy foods for a few weeks now, and this week we had the students create "Healthy Menus."

I put the students into groups and gave each group a poster board.  One group was Breakfast, another group was Lunch, and the last group was Dinner.  They had to talk together about healthy foods for their meal, and each student had to write at least one food on their poster.  They did a really great job with this project - but here's why I can't hang the posters in the hallway:
Breakfast

eg  (egg)

biskit  (biscuit)

bakin  (bacon)

semwich  (sandwich)

sirel  (cereal)

soushit ................... (sausage)

Even though I have been stressed, I still love going to work every day.

Next week is our 6th week of school - my, how time flies!

Chapter 8: Still Hopping

Another week has passed, and we are still hopping along...
Mr. Bojangles, the frog, is still hopping, too.  The kids are having so much fun with our class pet!  We have learned that Mr. BoBo will not eat crickets that are already dead, so we have to make sure to only put live crickets in his cage.  We have also learned that Mr. BoBo loves to swim.  We had a small cup of water in his cage for him, but I started feeling bad when I realized he couldn't even stretch out his legs.  We got him a bigger "pond" and some fresh grass and dirt, and he seems to be adjusting well.  He usually only comes out from hiding and hops around when the kids are not in the room.  He must not like all of their noise....

This week in 1st grade we learned:
-verbs (a word that shows action)
-how to classify a sentence with nouns and verbs
-greater than & less than numbers
-how to label the parts of a flower/plant

We experienced some sad news this week in my class - one of my students lost everything in a house fire.  Luckily noone was in the house during the fire, so noone was hurt.  But, they did lose everything.  My heart breaks for him every time I think about it.  I wanted to bring him home with me, but of course I couldn't.  The fire happened on Wednesday, so Thursday and Friday I spent a good bit of time talking to him and loving on him.  He did show some emotion on Friday when he told me that he was sad because they didn't get any of his stuff out.  I told him that it is ok for him to be sad and upset, but he should also be happy that noone was hurt in the fire.  I know time will help him heal, but I still want to fix it for him now.  My sweet parents helped purchase some necessary items for him until the family gets back on their feet.
Please keep my little guy and his family in your prayers.  He is my sweetheart.

We had a special visitor on Friday!  Ashleigh came to my class to meet the kids and experience a day in my life.  The kids absolutely loved her!  They kept asking "Mih Lemon, is she yo sista?"  The answer we found easiest to explain was, "yes."  They had lots of stories to share with Miss Ashleigh, and one little girl even said:
"I love white people and mixed people 'cause they hair is so long!"
I think Miss Ashleigh had a nice visit - and hopefully she will come back to visit us again soon!

Tomorrow is Monday, and I am ready for a new week!

Chapter 7: Class Pet

As of today, at 12:05pm, we have our very first class pet.

We found this cute little guy hopping around the playground during recess.  I hate to admit this, but it was actually my idea to catch him; and of course the kids did not think twice about it.  Some of the boys were trying to catch him, and some were too chicken to even try!  One student caught him and immediately threw him down because it scared him... (As you can tell, this is already amusing.)  I, of course, go to screaming, in excitement and panic, for kids to find him and pick him up again!  One student found an empty cup-which is what we decided to put the little guy in until we went back to our classroom.  

He stayed in the cup for about 5 minutes, then quickly found his way out....

Well, here I go screaming again!  

Don't worry - we got him!

As we went back inside from recess, I had the boys go outside by our classroom and collect grass, crickets, and grasshoppers for our little friend while I found him a water dish.

The kids were absolutely ecstatic!
(I was secretly enjoying this experience, too!)

Once we got the little guy into our class terrarium, complete with grass, water, and bugs, we decided to name him.  As the teacher of some very opinionated first graders, I chose the name without any discussion:

                                                   Mr. Bojangles

                                                Can you see him?  

Poor little guy; he was scared silly!

This was the best picture I could get of him today - but there will be many more to come (hopefully)!

The kids love the name Mr. Bojangles,
but like to call him "Mr. Bo" or "Mr. BoBo" for short.  :)

We are having so much fun in 1st grade!

Chapter 6: Tough Week

I have heard from veteran teachers that there will always be tough days and weeks, and now I actually believe and understand those words.  I have been challenged a great deal this week.  My students are getting comfortable with me and how I teach, and have decided to see how far they can push me.  Well, let's just say, even though I'm in a first grade classroom, my fuse is short.  I am working hard on my patience and understanding traits, but when I pray for those things God does not hand them to me on a silver platter.  Instead, he puts me in situations where I have to use patience and understanding.  It has been tough, but I know I will thank Him in the end for the lessons I've learned from Him, my teacher.

This week in 1st Grade we learned:
-Nouns (person, place, or thing)
-Verbs (a word that shows action)
-how to count and represent 100 using base 10 blocks
-how to plant seeds
-how to care for our teeth
-how to follow directions............(this will take a while)

Here are a few scenarios from my week for you to picture:
Me: "Friends, a verb is a word that shows or tells an action.  Run. Walk. Sing. Dance. Shake. Jump. Those are examples of verbs.  Things that you can actually do."
I then read some sentences and had the students tell me the verbs in the sentence.
Next, I had students tell examples of verbs.
Student: "Lamp."
Me: "Please stand up.  Ok, show me how to lamp."
The student stood there, blank-faced, and very confused.
Me: "Ok, lamp is a noun because it is a thing, right?!  Show me how to jump."
After a few practice words, she understood why 'lamp' was not a verb.
Verbs can be difficult to understand...

We have Creative Writing journal entries two days a week.  This week our journal topics were "Me as a Sandwich" and "Me on Television."  The sandwich journals were entertaining, but he television journals topped the cake.  I will try to upload some pictures of some student work so you can enjoy!
My favorite journal article of the week:
Me on Television - "I would be a single lady."

I had 2 students miss their bus on Thursday....I was not a happy camper.  A teacher stands in the hallway and calls the bus number, then I repeat it so my kids can hear, and then it is announced on the intercom.  The 2 kids that ride that bus number decided to just sit in my room and not move.  So, they missed the bus.  I had to call 18 different phone numbers to contact people to come pick them up from school - and it took quite a while for this process to play out.  Needless to say, I won't have any more students miss their buses - that's for sure!

I have a picture of me and Josh as the background on my phone.  One student (my little sweetheart that I call 'grandpa') saw my phone and said, "Who that is?"
Me: "That's a picture of me and Mr. Murphy."
Student: "Who Mr. Murphy is?"
Me: "He's the man I am going to marry, silly."
Student: "Oh, well I have the Smurf's movie at home!"
Me: "Not Smurfy....MURphy!"
Student: "Oooh, my bad, Mih Lemon."

The good far outweighs the bad, that's for sure.  I really am happy with where I am and what I'm doing.  I love my school, and I love my kids.  I am praying for patience and understanding, especially for those few students in my room that smirk and grin when I reprimand them.....That's what I mean by needing patience.

But, Monday starts a new week, and I am determined to make every new week better than the last.

Please pray for my patience and understanding, my students and their home environments, and my classroom to be an inviting and exciting place to learn and to love.

Chapter 5: Little People

We made it through our first full week of school!
For me, as a first year teacher, that is a huge accomplishment.  All of my students have smiled at least once a day, learned the required content, and given me more hugs this week than I can begin to count.
I would say it has been a very successful week!

The principal at school came into my classroom to observe me one day this week, and gave me some really great feedback.  I don't want to boast, but I am proud of these compliments, and I want to share with you.  She told me that she loved my classroom, loved my Mozart music playing in the background, loved that all of my students were engaged in a task, and.......
she would want her child in my classroom.
Wow!  I was absolutely shocked!
Don't worry - I still have lots of things I need to work on and master, so I am in no way the 'perfect' teacher, and I never will be.  But, I was proud to get such nice compliments, especially during my first week of teaching school!

After this week, I treated myself to a movie and popcorn night.  I went to the theatre to see the Glee 3-D movie, alone, and absolutely loved it!  Not only am I obsessed with the music, there were so many good life lessons to learn through the stories told in the movie.  I won't go into too many details, but there was a featured story throughout the movie about a dwarf-sized girl.  She ultimately won prom princess and lived happily ever after - but the most important thing I learned from her is within this quote:
"You gotta notice the little people in life!"
She obviously meant that line in different context than what I thought of, but it really hit home to me.  I teach because I love children.  They are all special and deserve a fighting chance to succeed.
Although they might be small, they are all little people.

Week 1 has been a success!

Chapter 4: Strong Start

Well, today was day 5 of school - and so far, so good!
The students have gotten back into the swing of school, and have adjusted to learning my classroom rules and procedures well.  I have some really great students, and some that are challenging me already...

This week we are learning the 5 parts of a complete sentence (subject, verb, complete sense, capital letter, end mark), nouns (person, place, thing), counting and writing the numbers 1 through 120, and distinguishing between living and non-living things.  We are going to have some smart 1st graders!

Here is a conversation from yesterday:
Student: "Miss Lemon, do you have a little boy?"
Me: "No, I do not."
Student: "Do you have a little girl?"
Me: "No, I do not have children yet because I am not married."
Student: "Ooohhhh, ok then.  Why is you not married?"
Me: "Well, when school is over in May, I will be getting married!  I will have a different name when you come to school next year."
Student: "What's yo name gonna be?"
Me: "I am marrying Mr. Murphy - so what will my name be?"
Student: "Mrs. Murphy?"
Me: "That's right; Mrs. Murphy!"
Student: "Well, ain't that somethin'!"

Best Quote so far:
"Miss Lemon, you so birdaful. :)"

I told the students on the first day of school that some days they will love me, and some days they will be mad at me - but no matter how they feel about me (or I feel about them) they must give me a hug before they leave my room to go home.
Because of this, I have truly learned the value of a hug.


These kids sure do know how to make me smile, laugh, and enjoy school! :)


I was without my assistant today, so I am really exhausted.  I knew I enjoyed having my assistant, but I didn't realize how much I would miss her until she was gone!  I'm so glad she will be back tomorrow!

Chapter 3: First Day of School

The first day of 1st Grade:
I had a wonderful day, I think the kids had a pretty great day, too!
21 students on roll - 17 present.
And they ALL got home by the correct form of transportation - hallelujah!

    As the students came in to the classroom, after eating breakfast, I had them complete an "About Me" sheet that is now on the wall where they are to hang their backpacks each morning.  We had our Morning Meeting on the carpet, which included singing our "Good Morning" song, discussing the Helper Chart, discussing the calendar and weather, singing our "Days of the Week," "Months of the Year," and "Four Seasons" songs, reciting our alphabet letters and sounds, and counting to 100!  I then read The Night Before First Grade by Natasha Wing, which was a great starter story.
    As a class we discussed classroom and school rules, and then we went for a walk around the school.  After our walk, we got ready for lunch (which is at 10:45am).  The classroom teachers are allowed to sit at a table together during lunch while our teacher assistant's monitor our class in the cafeteria - which, by the way, is SO wonderful!  By the time lunch came, I was ready for a nap!
    After lunch and a restroom break, we had a bit of Quiet Time, where naps were encouraged. :)
Surprisingly, all but 4 of my kids took a nap!
    After Quiet Time, we all went to the carpet and played some ice-breaker games:
'Hello, My Name Is' - Say your name, your birthday, and your favorite food; Simon Says; and Hot Potato.  The kids really enjoyed this part of the day!
--We had our first language lesson today during our game time, too:  One of the student's' favorite food is shrimp, so we learned how to correctly say the word "shrimp".  There is no /k/ or /c/ sound within in the word /shrimp/.--
    At 1:25pm my kids go to Resource, or Activity.  I was so prepared and had my class lined up and ready to be there on time.  We walked down the hall like big 1st graders right into the Library.  Well, after I had time to use the restroom, I heard my kids calling my name down the hall....panic, right?!  Turns out, I had in my head ALL DAY long today that it was Monday and we go to Library on Monday's and Friday's.  Too bad it's really Thursday, and we go to P.E. on Thursday's.  HA!  My kids laughed and laughed because "Miss Lemons' is loosing her mind...."  Yay me.
    The kids have Resource/Activity time until 2:20pm - and during that time the 1st grade teachers met and discussed our first day, our schedule for tomorrow, and a daily schedule for us to go by once we get into a set routine.  It was so nice to have a few minutes with my teacher friends!
    After Resource time, we played Letter Recognition Bingo until time to go home.  I had the students return to the carpet for one last book before collecting backpacks.
"Please raise your hand if you had a good first day of 1st grade." - me
17 students raised their hands.

"Please raise your hand if you are excited about 1st grade." - me
17 students raised their hands.

"Please raise your hand if you are happy to be in Ms. Leming's class." - me
17 students raised their hands!!!


Overall, today was successful.  I am so happy with where I am, with my Assistant Teacher, with my other 1st grade teachers, with my Administrators, and with my students.
I think it's going to be a really great year!

I am exhausted...

P.S. - I took a class picture of our first day of 1st grade, but will not post it on here due to privacy restrictions.  Just thought you would like to know that I, of course, took a picture to document. :)

Chapter 2: Finally Ready

Ok friends, I am finally ready for my 1st grade students to come to school....
I think.
The faculty and staff have had many meetings this week, which means I stayed late every day to work on my classroom.  We had "Meet & Greet" this afternoon from 4:30-5:30pm, and I had 3 parents come!  I was very prepared with some homemade cookies, and well, most of the teacher's enjoyed them. :)

I won't be able to write much tonight because I still have to write out my plan - minute by minute - for tomorrow.  Oh, and, it's 8:30pm and I am absolutely exhausted!

Here are some pictures of my classroom!
I thought I should show you all now - because I'm sure it will not look this clean for long...

                                                Welcome to First Grade
                     The stick kids are holding flags that say "1st Grade Rocks!"

                                                     "Reading Spot"

                                another view of the "Reading Spot"

Word Wall, Assistant Teacher's desk, Computers, Promethean Board, & Helper Chart

                                                       My teacher area!

                                               Storage and Bookshelves

                                                    Behavior Chart

                                          Morning Meeting Board area

I am so excited for tomorrow!

I will close tonight with this prayer:
A Teacher's Prayer
I want to teach my students how
To live life on earth - 
To face its struggles and its strife
And how to improve their worth - 
Not just the lessons in a book
Or how the river flows - 
But how to choose the proper path
Wherever they may go - 
To understand eternal truth
And know right from wrong - 
And gather all the beauty of
A flower and a song.
For if I help the world to grow
In wisdom and in grace,
Then I shall feel that I have won
And I have filled my place.
And so I ask your guidance, God,
That I may do my part,
For character and confidence
And happiness of heart.
           -James J. Metcalf