February 11

Happy Red Day... party
It's like Halloween to these kids. Well, that and it gives the boys a chance to buy stuffed animals for their "girlfriend of the week." But it's cute to see any age of kid carrying their Valentine cards around.

Today was our party (we have the actual day off) and the kids were beside themselves all day. Our parties consist of the following: lunch inside (usually pizza, but this year, I actually have a rad room mom, and she hooks us up with good food), pass out Valentines, watch a movie, go home. Easy, fun for the kids, sugar them up and send 'em home.

I always have the kids bring in a movie. This year they voted for.... wait for it.... Karate Kid II. Yeah, I thought the same thing. Seriously??? Whatever, they semi-enjoyed it. They mostly made fun of it, but it kept them busy for 2 hours.

Anyway, I always manage to get some good loot on party days. Cheesy, yes, but still loot nonetheless. Here are my goodies for this year's Valentine's Day.

 

The candy box on the left that says "Drama" is from a girl who said she bought it because she thought the girl looked like me. And the Warheads' heart below it is from a second grader. How cute is that?? I give most of the candy to my dad, who will eat anything. Don't worry... I kept the Warheads and the Fun Dip. Those are delish.

February 10

Awww, they DO love me
Thursday was Teacher Appreciation Day. I didn't even know until, at lunch, I walked into the lounge, and there were 5 billion pies to choose from. Our wonderful parent organization hooked us up, as they always do, and I scarfed down bits of about 5 different varieties of pies.

And then I came back to class and a student handed this to me. She said, "Happy Teacher Appreciation Day." Awwwwwww.....

The front said, "Thank you," and the back said, "#1 Teacher." Super cute.
P.S. That's me on the right. Duh.

February 9

Thanks, guys
So Wednesdays are our minimum days. We start at 8:13 and end at 11:45. Technically, the students go to lunch at 11:10, so we're done then. Anyway, I went into the office at 11:10 after sending my kids to lunch and my friend (and school secretary) said, "You're missing an earring."

Whaaaat?? How could that be? I didn't feel it come out. It's a giant silver hoop. Wait, was I missing it all day? Did not one of my 30 students notice it in the 3 hours we just spent together? And furthermore, these were my favorite earrings and now they're not a pair anymore?? I was sad. I took the lone ranger out of my ear, put it in my pocket, and went on with my day, saddened.

And 6 hours later, when I pulled into my garage, this is what I found:

 

Yup, fell out of my ear (somehow) as I got in the car that morning. Which means I wore one earring the entire day and none of my students said anything to me. 

Awesome.

February 7

Sometimes I'm a genius
The lesson in science today was about convection. I had to explain (to 12-year olds) what the hell happened when heat was transferred in liquid. I remember learning about it in college and having an awesome understanding of it, but there was no way I thought that my sixth graders could wrap their heads around the concept.

I underestimated them. Again.

In the lesson, I was going to use a few student volunteers to show how the water molecules heat up in the process of convection. I had so many friggin students volunteering, I thought I'd just make THEM come up with a skit in small groups. They had to be the water and they had to show me what convection was. (Just in case you're wondering, if we're talking about boiling water, the flame heats the pot. The water near the flame heats and starts to rise, pushing the cooler water down, which then heats and rises until all the water is boiling. It's a cycle of hot water rising, cool water sinking and heating, etc.)

Genius moment, because THESE are a few of what I got:

In this one, they get the idea of convection...

In this one, they kinda get the idea, but there are a few funny moments here. 1) When the kid in the purple forgets what he is playing and then takes a small bow after he figures it out. 2) When the kid says, "Oh my gosh, we're gradually getting warmer!" He's definitely one of my funnier kids. And I completely appreciate that.

February 4

Chickety China, the Chinese Chicken
So we're about to study China. And India. But more China because that's what this post has to do with. We always do art on Fridays at the end of the day (because art is nonexistant in the classroom nowadays). This week's had to do more with math and such, but they bought it.

We messed around with tangrams for a bit. We talked about what they were, played with some tangram puzzles, and then I let them create some figures with at least of 5 of the pieces. This project always makes me giggle, just seeing what they come up with.

"[My] Smile"

"Hot Dog Shak" (not sure...)

"Candle"

"Sun"

"Bird"

"Swan"

"Smiley Face With Sideburns and a Hat"

"House and Garden"

Bob Dancin' Disco... Whoo!"

Top "A Diner"; Bottom "Turtle"

"Guy With Hat"

And, because I always have one who thinks outside of the box... "Rocket Man"

February 1

It's our month-iversary...
Happy monthiversary, happy monthiversary
Happy monthiversary, HAAAAAppy monthiversary!!!!
Yay!!!

Thing #1... the picture for today....
This was a taken a few months ago but I got to see it today. So I took a picture of the picture before handing it off to our memory book (yearbook) parent. I thought it was super cute and pretty much describes how I am as a teacher. This is me on crazy sock day (Red Ribbon Week) with a few of my 6th grade girls. I'm trying to get them to be goofy in the picture (hence, my dorky pose) and they're sooooooper embarrassed. In fact, I think I had to beg a few of them to be in the picture.

 

Thing #2.... February 1st is one of my amazing friend's birthday. I know she doesn't read this, but I want to give a shout-out anyway. I've known this friend since I was 6 (see below) and we played on our first soccer team together. We've remained friends throughout the years. In fact, she and I (and some others) spent a day climbing Half Dome in Yosemite last summer. She and I also spent 13 days last summer in Peru. She was also my partner when trying out for The Amazing Race last year. We obviously didn't get picked... we think we were too normal. Lame. Anyway, happy birthday CK!

January 7

Sarcophagi
I do these every year with my kids. We design the pieces throughout the chapter and then at the end we put them together. I ALWAYS have kids who get really frustrated when we put them together. Today (yesterday, really) went amazingly smooth.

Another testament to how much my class rules this year.

January 6

Like Ice Cube said, today was a good day (doo why-ee)...
I love my class this year. That's all there is to it. Here's how a conversation went with one of my female students today.

(We're finishing up our Egyptian sarcophagi.)
Student, to me: Do you dare me to draw a six pack on Amun-Ra's stomach?
Me (not at all surprised by the question): I double dog dare you!
Student (smiling): OK! (and she trots back to her desk)

Five minutes later....

They really are the simple things that make my day...

January 4

Room 16

My students were on fire today. I know I do my job when I go to review a chapter and they can give me this many key words. After we listed the key words for Egypt, we categorized them and wrote a summary paragraph for the chapter. 
These are the days I especially love... when you can see that they learned. Super rewarding.

In case you're curious (I know you are!), this is the summary paragraph we came up with for the chapter on Egypt that we just finished.

Egypt

Egypt was a very powerful and successful civilization that had many achievements. The gift of the Nile gave Lower Egypt fertility and Upper Egypt protection. Rulers in Egypt wore a double crown with the colors red and white to represent their power. To show respect for the pharaohs, the Egyptians mummified pharaohs and nobles and put them in pyramids to live in the afterlife. Their writing system was focused on hieroglyphics and, thanks to the Rosetta Stone, we can now read what they wrote. Egyptians were masters of art and they painted beautiful works in the pharaohs' tombs so the dead could enjoy them. All in all, Egypt was a civilization full of power and glory, but it eventually fell from its control.