Day 16 was a lost day...not in the sense that I was sick or out of commission, it's just LOST....somewhere...I did have a slice that I shared but it's gone, lost, somewhere in cyberspace or in the dregs of what little memory is left in this laptop. But not on SOL site or in my drafts, so be it.
Sorry, slicers, not because it was epic or anything. I'll try again. Workout slices: 25 pushups 90 leg raises with ankle strap 30 lower back extensions with 30-pound weight 40 medicine ball squats 9 pull-ups with assist to trainer (lol) 40 crunch/twists 2 minute plank Repeat x3.(not that plank, baby, no way!)
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Today we had our second day of our second round of state-mandated testing. This test is called I-READ and it's designed as an assessment that will show that our 3rd graders are reading and comprehending on grade level. This test is comprised of phonics and comprehension portions.
This test was NOT our best hour—although my students all read at or above grade level, and they seemed to take their time while testing, reading carefully and searching for text evidence in the various passages. No, our BEST HOUR was the first hour in our day today. We didn't test right away and were able to spend the first hour working on some projects we started yesterday on day one of our testing. Today we took time to write, color, cut, glue, and create. It was absolutely a wonderfully calm and productive start to our day. The students talked in groups while they worked, giving me insight to little slices of their day or week or thinking. Honestly, I wish I had videoed them, it was that sweet. Why don't we take time for this on a regular basis? (Oh, yes, refer to paragraph one....) Why do we generally save this for the end of the day when they are antsy little clock-watchers, putting to use their elapsed time skills as they try to determine how much of the school day is left before they should "remind" me that it's time to pack up? Creating, conversing—and yes, even coloring, cutting and gluing—this is a slice I want to repeat! I sat to the side and answered questions when needed, laughed with them when they came to show me something clever they'd written, located specific colors of markers or a lost glue stick lid, spelled the occasional word, and just soaked it in...relishing in the way they helped each other, basking in the glow of their sweet conversations, wanting it to never end! Today's slice will be a real slice, just a slim view into my day.
I awoke to not a blizzard, as many of my eastern friends did, but to a quiet house. Too quiet for this day, this special day. It's a birthday in our family (mine), and birthdays deserve laughter and hugs, streamers and presents at the breakfast table! Birthdays deserve Belgian waffles with blueberry compote or chocolate chip pancakes sprinkled with powdered sugar. Birthdays deserve a mimosa at breakfast (on a weekend, of course) and flowers on a table set with pretty china and tea cups for coffee. On special days like this I miss having our kids at home. I miss their smiles at the breakfast table and their homemade cards. Many a birthday has been celebrated around this table, and even with no leaf in it, it feels too big for the two of us. Especially at birthday breakfasts. Even without the kids, I am blessed to celebrate with my best friend and husband—and indeed, I do count celebrating anything with him as a blessing. There is plenty of hot coffee (in my favorite china cup), and there are flowers on the table. Instead of waffles, there's an omelet with sautéed mushrooms and freshly grated parmesan cheese. There is Fleetwood Mac on the stereo playing all the old favorites. Later there will be texts, phone calls and FaceTime, a glass of wine at dinner, laughter and love. And for now there is a quiet breakfast together, complete with cards and gifts, the best of which is an opportunity to make this year a fabulous one! #SOL17 - Day 13: Organized ChaosThis weekend I spent most of my time on report cards, standards, grading, laundry, travel planning, and more grading, standards, and checklists in preparation for sending home report cards later this week. My dining room table is littered with stacks of checklists, goal sheets, make up work, sets of science papers, folders, and lot and lots of sticky notes! No matter that at mid-term I endeavor to be caught up with grading, checklists, standards, etc., for the quarter up to that point. Never mind the fervent promises the two weeks before the end of the quarter that THIS TIME I won't be caught up late trying to finish. Forget that last full week when I claim to be ready to do rechecks each day a little at a time, so it's not so overwhelming. It's not quite the zero hour—that comes on Thursday morning, and I AM going to check off quite a few things today, but I am in full-on scramble mode...scrambling to have this child find her social studies work and that child complete missed tests from a week ago and another darling take the missing 4 AR tests she never took even though she insisted she had. It brings to mind the Helen Reddy song "I Am Woman" - if you are old enough to remember it: I am woman, hear me roar In numbers too big to ignore And I know too much to go back an' pretend 'Cause I've heard it all before And I've been down there on the floor No one's ever gonna keep me down again... Except my version is this: I am teacher, hear my pleas Search every folder in your desk, And I know you think you already turned it in 'Cause I've heard that one before And let's look way down at the bottom Now let's check inside that backpack once again.... The best part is the conferencing that takes place with each child to check on progress made to meet various goals. Conferencing is one of the fun parts, even if it is time consuming. It's time well spent because I get to hear first hand how it's going from each student's perspective. I get to be a part of the celebration and the strategizing to set new goals. The good news is that we will get through this. All grades, checklists, grade verifications, standards reports, vocabulary scores, conferencing, and conduct comments will be done and ready to print on time. And come Thursday, my grade book won't have any holes at all—it will be a clean slate ready to begin afresh. With it will come a renewed effort to keep up and be better organized, for a few weeks. Don't let my moaning and whining fool you, I really do enjoy reporting on the progress and achievements of my darlings! As we head into the last quarter, my instinct is to throw on the brakes to halt this thing called "the end of the year" that will be here before we know it. So for now, I'm content to check in with each little dearie to see how they would characterize their progress this quarter, and to celebrate successes big and small. report card
noun chiefly N. Amer. a teacher's written assessment of a student's work, progress, and conduct, sent home to a parent or guardian. TAKE ONE (teacher): Reporting, Evaluating effort and engagement vs expectations, Proud of progress toward potential via Observations. Reflect on resilience, Tell positives and trends.; Communicate Anecdotes about ability, aptitude and attitude Report on respectful relationships that Develop dreams. TAKE TWO (students): Reads Everyday Problem solves Out of box Reasoning and Thinking. Collaborates, Actively Responds; Dares to dream. |
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