There's No Place Like Home

Tomorrow at 4:30 am we begin the trek home. I have had a great time in Germany and really enjoyed my first taste of Europe but I will be SO ELATED to sleep in my own bed and take a shower in my beautiful bathroom. The tiny shower in our hotel has been the bane of my existence here and I am looking forward to being home.

We are waiting to hear back on whether or not the school can get a work permit for me which is kind of the final factor in our consideration of relocating. If I can't work in Germany, that doesn't really work for us, so again...... we wait......

I believe the only TA position left is in the 3's class, but there is a chance a spot will become available in a third grade class if the numbers are high enough (22 kids in the class). If officially offered the position in Kinder 3's (given a work permit) I will accept it, with the hope that if the third grade position becomes available that maybe I could switch into that.

I am hopeful that we will know for sure within the next few days. I feel like I say that everyday.....

When I get home tomorrow I am heading to the bookstore at PSU to get my books for summer term and trying to figure out how to get a parking pass since I missed the deadline. I am usually SUCH an organized person that this whole life up in the air business has thrown me off my game. Hopefully I will be able to get a permit or else I might be riding to school on a bike that I don't yet have.

Is it dorky that I get so excited to buy my textbooks? I am such a book-aholic that I feel like it's Christmas any time I get new books. I know...it's weird. Although mostly teachers read this blog so maybe someone shares that sentiment!

I am looking forward to Mexican food and sushi and protein shakes all of which I have gone without in Germany. I have had my fair share of ice cream, chocolate, and nutella, so I think now it's time to get back in summer shape.

Here's to the Crazy Ones

Tomorrow (Monday or montag, as I have learned in German) will be our last day here in Germany. I am hoping to return to the school one more time to see the classrooms again and discuss the possible TA position with the principal and HR representative.

The first time I visited, I was preoccupied with being interviewed and meeting some of the staff, so I don't think I took as close a look as I could have. When I think back on the classrooms I don't remember seeing much besides student desks in the rooms. I didn't see cozy library areas or lots of materials, so I want to go back and take a closer look this time. I did notice that the teachers had office spaces outside the classrooms where they had a desk, phone etc. I thought that was interesting. The classrooms were all about learning and not the other business that needs to be taken care of like lesson planning and parent interactions.

I am so curious to learn more about the instruction at this school and I am starting to look forward to the fact that I will be able to do a lot of observation if I take the position as a teacher's assistant. From the looks of the classrooms, the instruction and educational atmosphere is very different that what I am familiar with so I am sure it will be a great learning experience. The principal told me they have very few discipline issues because the families pay so much money to have their children attend the school. I always had a lot of discipline issues in my classroom and often dealt with students talking when I was teaching and/or not following directions. Again, I am very intrigued to see how this plays out in a very different school environment.

My meeting with the professor went really well. He was a bit crazy, but he is very accomplished and is quite well known in the area for his achievements. He was very enthusiastic about helping me and indicated that I would be the first person to ever complete a Ph.D in this way in Germany. He said that as long as the professor in Portland is willing to "think outside the box" and do something different that it sounds like I will have great success. He referred to himself as being crazy in that he has 8 different jobs and does a million and one different things for the university and city and he said that I seem crazy too. I took that as a comliment that he would put me in the same category as himself and that he recognizes that I am a go getter.

He mentioned that he can help me get support from other faculty members at the university and conduct research around education and different cultures. He did say however, that I might not get support from a certain female faculty member because I am an attractive female and therefore she may take issue with me. He referred to this as "mare biting" like when female horses bite and fight with each other...... hmmmm. Did I mention he was a bit crazy?

It reminds me of a great advertisement from the apple Think Different campaign:

I would be honored to be one of the "crazy ones"

Birthday!

Today was my birthday! It started out a little stressful because we had meetings regarding our pending relocation, but the rest of the day was really fun.

My husband and I went to get a drink at a cute little place in the town center. It is so relaxed here and I definitely need some of that to rub off on me because I am always rushing and hurrying! We met some friends around 8 and went to an Indian restaurant in Erlangen for dinner. We are having some trouble reading menus in German, but luckily the friends we met up with speak German so they helped us translate. The food was SO good and we left full and happy.

I got some ice cream for dessert and we hung out at a festival that was taking place in the street. There were different beer booths, various chocolatey desserts, rides and games. I am definitely putting on some kilos on this trip. We are walking a lot during the day, but it is really hard to eat healthy because we eat out all the time and we are in vacation mode right now. I don't usually eat a lot of desserts and unhealthy food, but I feel like I am so stressed out by other aspects of the trip that I am just eating anything that is in front of me. (That is also due to the fact that most of the time I can't read the menus!).

Tomorrow I am meeting the professor from the university in Nuremberg. I have not yet gotten down how to pronounce his name, so I will affectionately refer to him as "the professor." Hopefully it will be easy enough to communicate with him and talk with him about possibly mentoring me through my doctoral experience.

After we are done in Nuremberg we are heading to another city for some fun. I wish I could post pictures, but I have to wait until I get home to sync up my camera. I am usually so bad about taking photos, but I knew this would be an important trip, so I have been using the camera a lot to capture the beauty of the old cities and sites.

More to come...

Summer Classes

Many teachers would think I was insane for doing this, but I registered for 16 credits worth of summer courses. A lot of teachers just want to relax during the summer and want nothing to do with school or anything like it. I am an eternal student, so taking classes is something I always enjoy and look forward to. It will only take about 4 weeks to complete the 16 credits, so I will be working pretty hard during that time to get it accomplished.

Even though we are still not sure as to where we will be living come September, I have an agenda either way for taking classes.

I am registered for:

• Literacy Instruction/Special Needs
• Writing in Content Areas
• Teacher as Researcher
• Advanced Educational Psychology
• Reading Comp. In Content Areas

Two of the courses are web based, so that means I can complete the work at my own pace and do not have classes to attend which is nice.

If we stay in Portland, the 16 credits are the first 16 of my doctoral program which cover 10 Curriculum & Instruction credits and 6 elective credits. Also, I need exactly 16 credits to bump myself into the next bracket of the salary schedule in my current district which means a salary increase and that always helps!

If we end up moving to Germany, I am so eager to pursue my doctorate through PSU anyway that I am convinced the program coordinator just has to let me. I have mapped out a schedule of classes that allows me to do a lot of credits during summer sessions when I can return to Portland and bust my buns for several weeks each summer. I have contacted a professor from the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and am going to meet him on Saturday to discuss how he might be able to mentor me in my research/dissertation stage of the program which I think will help to convince PSU that I am really motivated to make this happen!

Tomorrow we are having a meeting with HR to discuss some final issues regarding the relocation and I think after that we will be pretty much ready to make our final decision. I feel like I am living a double life of sorts because I have these dual scenarios of how my life will play out over the next few months. I am honestly happy either way things work out and there are aspects of both situations that I am excited for and aspects of each situation that I would be sad to forego. I will be very happy when our minds have been made up and we can move forward with our future plans!

Decisions

This morning, I had an interview with an international school in Germany. Unfortunately, all of their teaching positions are filled for the 2009-2010 school year, however they do have TA positions that they need to fill. At first, I was excited to hear this, thinking that the transition might be easier if I am not THE teacher in charge. It would be a great way to get my feet wet and learn the ropes at a new school, yet the workload would not be as much as it would be if I were the classroom teacher responsible for all of the curriculum, planning, and teaching.

I met with a representative from HR and the elementary school principal and really enjoyed the opportunity to see the school, however the info I received about the job was disappointing. The TA positions are only for 3 hours a day and the pay is not a lot at all. Also, the TA positions are only available in Kindergarten and First Grade. There are 6 Kindergarten classes and in Germany Kindergarten includes classes for 3 year olds, 4 year olds, and 5 year olds.

Do I really want to go from being the classroom teacher in a first grade classroom to being a helper in what is essentially preschool? Been there, done that, and teaching preschoolers is not my cup of tea. I did it for almost a year, and I really prefer children who more independent than that.

Disregarding the pay for a moment, I think that I would enjoy being a first grade TA because I have experience in first grade and love that age group. I am not sure however if I would be placed in that grade level because I also have preschool experience and that is stated on my resume and there were also more TA positions within Kinder so there is a greater likelihood I would get placed there. I would prefer to work more than 3 hours a day, but the principal did point out that this is a great way to "get my foot in the door" and that if another full time position became available, I would be able to move if I was a fit for that grade level.

Logically, it does not make sense for a licensed teacher with multiple endorsements and a master's degree in special education to work as an assistant position that pays very little.

Is this something I do to "suck it up" and hope that something better comes along within the school?

My husband and I have a lot to talk about....

To Do List

I love making lists. I make them for everything and really enjoy crossing off items because it gives me a great sense of accomplishment. Since summer is officially here, I thought I would make a list of 10 things I want to accomplish this summer. (Considering I have no idea what turns life will take in the next few months this is completely a for fun in an ideal world kind of list).

In no particular order....

1. Cook more! During the school year I am always in a rush to eat when I get home and I rarely ever cook good meals. I love the leisure of cooking and eating in the summer.

2. Establish a morning workout routine incorporating a little Tracy, a little Jackie, and a lot of Jillian.

3. Get credits. I want to start my course work for my doctorate. My goal was originally 16 credits which would bump me to the next level on the pay scale (this only applies if I stay with my current district). Since we are headed to Germany on Saturday I am not able to take two of the courses I was planning on, so I may not make it to 16 credits this summer, but I am hoping for at least 9.

4. Read 10 good books. I am always reading several different books at once but lately they have all been professional development books related to teaching and instruction. I would love to read some good novels this summer including My Sister's Keeper (even though I already read that) because it was made into a movie and I remember it being a really great book.

5. Write a letter to one of my grandma's every week. Even though my grandma in Florida uses email, she still always looks forward to getting my letters in the mail. My other grandmother (in-law) is 93 and lives in Arizona. She is a pistol but I know how to charm her and she also loves getting letters in the mail.

6. Visit my family in CT and see my adorable little niece before she gets too big!

7. Visit my bff in Virginia. She and her husband just bought a house. She came to PDX to visit me last year and I owe her a trip!

8. Get together with friends. Some of my teacher friends that I went through my master's program with and I get together once a month for happy hour or dinner. I would love to continue this over the summer because it is so fun to chat and relax.

9. Take more photos. I always have my camera with me and I never actually take photos. I would like to get more photos of my husband and me and work more on my other blog Team Toppel.

10. RELAX. I guess it is something I really don't do enough but apparently I am very stressed (enough to chip my tooth by grinding my teeth) so obviously I need to practice relaxing. I am always on the go and need to make time to just sit, relax, and not multitask for once!

What are your summer plans?? Tag you're it...make your own top ten to do list for summer!

School's Out!

Well my first event of summer vacation was a visit to the dentist because I apparently chipped my tooth. I wanted to make sure and see him before leaving for Germany just in case something was really wrong. He said he could not do anything but to call back if the pain gets worse. He said that I probably chipped it because I grind and chomp my teeth a lot. He told me that many teachers face this same problem due to stress. It's funny...I don't feel that stressed, but apparently I really am because I chomp my teeth hard enough to chip one! Yikes!!

We had a half day today, but it seemed long since there isn't really much left to do! We had an assembly and some autographing time, but other than that I just hung out with my class. We had a little dance party and at one point I had my entire class in a giant Conga line going around the room. They had a blast.

We also did a sharing circle and they each got to share their favorite thing about first grade, something they learned this year, and then something they are excited for/worried about/wondering about for next year. They were really cute. One girl shared she learned how to write in English and that was my favorite!

We usually have lunch at 10:50 so the 11:45 dismissal time without lunch was going to be a bit rough so we had some snacks. At one point one of my students said Mrs. Toppel close your eyes. I closed my eyes for a minute and finally they said ok open them. This is what they wrote on the board:

How sweet! When I walked the class out to the buses, I literally had four or five girls clinging to my legs. I was in a perma-hug with Karla, who was an allstar student this year. I wrote her parents a note (in my best spanish) to tell them what a pleasure it was to have her in my class this year. I have never had my students be so clingy on the last day, but it felt nice and I definitely felt the love. It was bittersweet to think that this might be my last last day of school in this location, but we are still unsure about that.

Tomorrow I go back for one final day of sorting and organizing and then I officially check out for the summer. In the event that we are moving, I will have to go back and remove my stuff but for now...it stays.

Recital #2

Tonight I went to another student's dance recital. I am happy to attend any kind of event, but I am particularly partial to dance recitals since I danced for 16 years and taught dance to 3-5 year olds and 8-9 year olds. Here is a picture of my beautiful ballerina first grader and me.

This time I think it's clear who was the ballerina and who was not....

The recital tonight made me want to be on the stage SO badly. Sometimes I feel like I missed my calling in life. I love to perform and dance and wear beautiful sparkly costumes. I never really got into musical theater too much because I cannot carry a tune, but the dancing part was always something I enjoyed. I have not danced since I moved to OR and I really miss it now.

I recently reconnected with some of my dancing friends from back in the day on facebook and I have seen pictures from their recent show. I would love to be back on the stage!

It was really sweet to see how excited my student was to have me there. I think she didn't really believe I would come until I actually showed up. She kept checking as if I was going to blow it off, but I was probably more excited about it than she was! Her class did a ballet routine to the Happy Little Working Song from the movie Enchanted. SO cute!

Kelly posted this on her blog and I thought it was fun!

Get to know me a little better...

What is your current obsession? Organizing my classroom and making sure everything is packed up!

What is your weirdest obsession? Peanutbutter. LOVE it!

Starbucks or Peet’s? Starbucks, but I don't drink coffee that often. I usually get a nice Chai Tea.

What’s for dinner? Sadly I had a frozen organic chicken burrito. Hubby is out of town and I had to get to a recital so it was a rushed dinner.

What would you eat for your last meal? A LOT. I would probably eat some sushi (for an appetizer), pad thai, tater tots, nachos...all the good stuff that I try not to eat on a regular basis and definitely cake and ice cream for dessert.

What was the last thing you bought? flowers for Mrs. Kehe

What are you listening to right now? School's Out by Alice Cooper! (dreaming of tomorrow at 11:45)

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Coldstone Creamery Birthday Cake Remix!!!!!

What do you think of the person(s) who tagged you? Kelly posted it in her blog and even though I don't actually know her I think she seems like a pretty cool girl.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? CT to watch my beautiful niece sleep.

Which language do you want to learn? Well I guess right now that would be German.

What is your favorite quote (for now)? Say what you mean and mean what you say

What is your favorite color? blue, red, green. Three way tie!

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? I just got a dress from Old Navy that can't wait to wear on my birthday. I also have some pretty cool kicks thanks to my husband :0)

What is your dream job? I love teaching but I think my dream job would be writing children's books so that I could also stay home with my kids in the future. Or a Radio City Rockette!

What is your worst habit? twirling my hair.

If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on? I just spent $100 on a new flat iron.

Do you admire any one’s style? Janell ( a teacher I work with). She always looks cute and has great clothes. Also Jen. She lives in NYC and looks like she belongs on Sex and the City.

Describe your personal style. Casual...I live in Oregon so that's the way to go. I love to be very comfy and during the summer I am always in workout clothes (even if I am not working out that day....again that is thanks to my hubby)

What are you going to do after this? Calling my father-in-law.

What are your favorite movies? The Other Sister, Flashdance, UP

What is your favorite fruit? strawberries

What inspires you? Educators who change lives and my husband

What is your favorite book? Harry Potter books

Do you collect something? My grandmother started a collection of the state quarters for me. Also, I guess you could say I collect shoes.

What is your favorite smell? those sugar cookie or vanilla frosting candles.

What are you most proud of? Getting accepted into the doctoral program at PSU

How many times do you press the snooze button before you get up? Recently, it's been about 4 or 5,

Cats or dogs? Cats, but my husband is allergic to both so we don't have any pets.

Complete the following: Love is…giving up something you really want for something that the person you love really wants....

What do you like best about yourself (can be a physical characteristic and/or a personality trait)? I like that I am a good teacher.

What do you dislike about yourself? I wish I smiled more. I am very serious.

Don't show any emotion at graduation!

A graduating high school senior in Maine was denied his diploma because he blew a kiss to his mom while walking across the stage.

Read about it here

When there are so many challenges facing our graduation rate is it really reasonable to deny a student the right to graduate based on a small action at the ceremony such as blowing a kiss?Considering other gestures that could have been made, a kiss to mom seems benign and sweet.

Administration of this district said that rules had been clearly stated regarding expected student conduct during the graduation and they were simply enforcing rules, however I have to say that whatever rules they instituted that would result in a student not graduating just because he blew a kiss seem like inappropriate rules to me. Have they taken into consideration different cultural values and behaviors for ceremonious occasions such as graduation? Perhaps this was the first person in the family to ever graduate and he got a little excited....

I just don't get it. Certain offensive behaviors might merit this result, however a kiss? Not one of them.... Do we have to take all the fun away? Even if students were passing inflated beach balls around and getting a little rambunctious, don't they deserve to celebrate the great accomplishment of graduation???

Non educational movies in school

Typically at the end of the year we show a movie on field day because the kids are so wiped out from their morning of games outside, that sitting and watching a movie is all the energy they can muster. This year we got the afternoon slot for field day so we skipped our movie and had a productive pre-fun educational morning.

Since we have done a fun end of the year movie every year, I was thinking of showing one on Wednesday just as a way for the kids to relax and enjoy while I do some much needed organizing.

I have gotten past feeling guilty about showing a movie, however the one I wanted to show (Bolt) is rated PG, so now I am not so sure. I know the kids watch movies with that rating at home and our school showed Kung Fu Panda for a family night which is also rated PG, but I am hesitant. I feel like I have to check with the boss or something. I feel like since they have told me about Jason, Chuckie, and Jaws that they have seen content far worse than Bolt would offer, but I don't want to be inappropriate in any way.

I guess I will preview the movie tonight or tomorrow and use my teacher judgement to see if it will be okay or not. I find a lot of stuff geared for kids (Disney channel, Hannah Montana ah hem) to be inappropriate so I am probably more stringent than most parents would be.

Have you seen Bolt? Do you think it is okay for first graders to watch? In general should little kids be limited to G rated movies at school? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

My birthday came early!

Yesterday my husband took me to the Apple store and got me a new laptop for my birthday. Despite the fact that it is he who is about to graduate with his MBA, he thought I deserved a new computer. How sweet!

He is such a tech geek so he picked it all out and it's awesome. This was definitely not a spontaneous purchase, he was thinking about it, researching it, and planning it for awhile.

Here he is getting it all set up for me...

Not only do I get an educator discount, but they were running a special so you get a free ipod with the purchase of a computer. I got a 16GB Ipod touch.

I love how the keys are black because the white one I have at work got all stained. I even had the keyboard and surrounding area replaced and it turned brown again. It is not from dirty hands, I was told it is simply how the plastic reacts with the oils in skin, but it looks nasty. The black and silver look is sleek, sophisticated, and COOL. I am so excited to be blogging with my new toys!

Being a little TV obsessed, my husband also hooked me up with a monitor that doubles as both a computer monitor and a TV. I can use two computer screens at once OR I can watch TV while I work or blog. I am watching some quality food network right now! Kind of makes me want to bake some cookies...

Feeling just a little bit spoiled right now, but fortunately our birthdays are only a week apart so I get to spoil him right back....hopefully I will come up with a good idea soon because his birthday is Friday!

Favorites

As a teacher you are not supposed to have favorites....yet I do. I can't help but form really special connections with certain students over others. Last year I had a student who I will ALWAYS remember for the rest of my life. Her photo is on my desk in a frame that says,

"100 years from now it will not matter the type of house I lived in or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."

Her parents gave me the framed photo at the end of the year and I cherish it.

Yesterday, for the second year in a row, I went to see her dance recital. She did a 50's number to Rock Around the Clock and I shined with pride. I did a little hooting and hollering in that tacky recital fan way and I smiled from ear to ear. It might not seem like a big deal to watch an 8 year old in a dance recital, but to see this student up on stage looking just like the other little dancers makes my heart shine. 

It looks like I am wearing a tutu, but I swear I was just in the audience and did not perform!

Summer Hair

smiles

and a silly one...

A.A.W.

5 months old

Can't wait to see her (and hug her) again!

Spilling My Guts

Blogging is one of those great outlets, like writing in a diary, when you can spill your guts. Especially in my case, because most people who read this blog don't really know me!

I posted awhile back about how pumped I was to have gotten accepted into the doctoral program at PSU to get my Ed.D in Educational Leadership. My ultimate goal is to teach at the university level in a teacher prep program. I did not find that my teacher prep program truly prepared me to be in the classroom, so I would like to help implement some changes so that future teachers have a better idea of how to meet the needs of ELL students, students of poverty, students of color, as well as students with various special needs.

Anyway, shortly after I received my acceptance letter, my husband received a call from headquarters in Germany indicating they are interested in having him take a position in their office....in Germany. At first I was so upset and cried my eyes out because I have a hard time leaving people, places, routines and plans. I was all set to embark on this great path for my own personal/professional journey and this definitely put a huge kink in that!

Now that I have had some time to think about it, I am actually pretty excited at the prospect of moving to Germany.  I think teaching in an international setting would be a phenomenal experience and I know that I would have fun experiencing so many things that I have yet to experience in life.

The problem now is that everything is still so up in the air. We are going to Germany for 10 days to have some meetings and get more information, but in the meantime I am finishing the school year not knowing if I will be back next year. I have told the team of teachers that I work with and many of my friends on staff, however I am not planning to make the principal or district aware unless/until I have a for sure/final answer. It has been so challenging to "make plans" for next year, all the while knowing I may not be there to carry them out. Because I will not know before school lets out, I feel like there is no closure and that sucks!

I had a whole schedule of courses set up that I was planning on taking this summer, but now I am not sure what to do because I don't know if I will be here this summer or not.

I got chosen to teach at a really cool summer program for ELL students through my district, but again I don't know if I will actually be able to do it.

Last night I attended an informational session at PSU and it was bittersweet. I felt so proud that I was sitting there among the chosen, yet sad because once again, I have no idea it will actually come to fruition! After the presentations were all done, I spoke with the program coordinator and basically explained my situation and told him I really don't want to give up this great opportunity I have to participate in this program. I asked him if there is any way, if I move, to complete the program (or parts of it) remotely from Germany. 

To my surprise, he said he would actually consider it....

He told me that they have been trying to add more online components and that we can schedule a meeting to discuss possibilities. I was thinking that I can still purchase and read the textbooks, follow the syllabus, and complete assignments and perhaps use a format like a blog to interact and discuss with my cohort and classmates. I think there would be extra work involved because of the class time I would be missing, but perhaps I could add an international perspective to discussions that would be an interesting element.  

I am really excited to think that maybe I can have my cake and eat it too!

I will be terribly sad if I have to leave my current school and wonderful staff. I have learned so much from the other teachers on my team and I will miss them tremendously. Goodbyes are hard, especially when you are surrounded by such good people.

Another challenging aspect is moving out of a classroom. It is like a small apartment and I have soo many materials and books that I can't even imagine the process of moving all of my stuff from school as well as packing up our whole house. Challenges that arise with a move seem all the more complicated when it comes to moving abroad. Not to mention the fact that my hair straighter will not work in Germany!

All of this uncertainty has pretty much been eating away at me and driving me crazy for the past month or so. I know that good things come from change and I welcome challenges and new experiences, but I have such a hard time not having any sort of plan. 

Once school ends next week, I have no idea when I will work again, whether I will take classes this summer or pack up my life and what the next few months will bring. It is both exciting and scary at the same time.

I am crossing my fingers that my husband gets the job because I know that is what he truly wants and I guess we will just have to take it from there, one step at a time.....

Check it out!

I decided to start a new blog which will be more about my husband and our adventures together as opposed to my professional life and teaching.

I am still going to post on sneakerteacher, but I may have more interesting stuff to post on Team Toppel  since summer is coming and school is almost out! My first post is up!

Layoffs and Budget Cuts

We recently had many of our staff members laid off due to budget cuts for next year. Six teachers from our school were laid off and one was moved to another school because our full day Kindergarten program was cut to half day (with one tuition full day class). Those teachers included our PE and Music teacher because the district is cutting those programs so that instead of having full time PE and Music teachers, two elementary schools will share 1 PE teacher and 1 Music  teacher. Also many instructional assistants and our Library assistant were laid off. 

What do you say to a co-worker that has been laid off?!

Our number one concern (besides how crappy it is that GREAT teachers lost their jobs) is that class sizes will increase for next year to possibly 27 kids and over 30 kids in 4th and 5th grades. 

We recently found out that 35 of the 100 or so teachers who were laid off will be hired back due to increases in the projected funding for next year. Nothing is official yet, but it is great to know that so many excellent teachers will not be out of work. We are hopeful that our PE and Music program will run the same next year as it has in the past with specialists at each school. I feel like change is very hard and even if some teachers are hired back, they will not necessarily get positions at our school.

I am happy that summer vacation is almost here, but at the same time, I feel like a lot of farewells are approaching and that is always hard for me. I get really attached to people and I will be sad to have certain teachers leave our staff. We are also losing our principal to another school in the district and are awaiting the announcement of our new principal. It seems like next year will be very different and will take some getting used to. 

It is always hard to watch certain kids get on the bus on the last day of school. I have several kiddos this year that I adore and I wish I could teach them next year as well. As much as many days can be frustrating, I will truly miss some of my students over the summer. Each year of teaching has gotten a little bit easier and each group gets a  little more dear to my heart.

7 days left...hard to believe!

I PICK Good-Fit Books

The Daily Five

By Gail Boushey & Joan Moser "the sisters"

www.the2sisters.com

I got my new books from Amazon yesterday! I started reading The Daily Five and so far I am enjoying it. I read 4 of the 7 chapters at my husband's softball game...(I know I am such a good fan). I at least looked up and took a reading break every time he was at bat. I always enjoy reading about teachers who have these amazing strategies and systems in place in their classrooms. I picture what it's like and get excited about having a classroom where the kids all adore reading and quietly manage themselves, moaning when they have to stop reading. 

The problem is, when I read about their classrooms and their students, I can't but thinking that they just don't sound like my students. The ideas are great and it would be my job as a skilled teacher to figure out how those ideas would work best in my classroom with my group of children, and I can do that, but at the same time, given an adopted reading curriculum that I have to follow, I don't have the ability to simply teach kids how to read in whatever manner I please. There are protocols that I have to follow.

With the daily five system, as I am learning, it seems like the strategies and expectations can be used in conjunction with an adopted curriculum, but I do think that I would need more TIME (and what teacher doesn't). Even though it can be frustrating at times, I do think that I continue to get new ideas and even if I can't use the specific ideas from a given book, I always find reading about teaching to be inspiring. 

The one part that I loved the most from what I read so far was using shoe selection to teach kids about Good-Fit books and book selection. The authors discuss using IPICK:

I chose a book

Purpose-Why do I want to read it?

Interest-Does it interest me?

Comprehend-Am I understanding what I am reading?

Know-I know most of the words.

I think this alone is a great tool to help kids select books that are appropriate for their personal interests/abilities. The authors extend the lesson further in a way that is really cute.

The mention bringing in a bag full of different kinds of shoes-- running shoes, golf shoes, rain boots, dress up shoes, and a pair of their husband's shoes that are much too large. They discuss with the kids how each kind of shoe has a different purpose. We would not wear ballet slippers in the rain!  We certainly could not go running in the rain!

"Just like choosing which shoes to wear for which activity, we also have a purpose when we choose a book."

They broaden the discussion by mentioning a type of shoe that they do not have in the bag-- maybe soccer shoes-- because they do not like soccer. This helps to explain how being interested in something makes it right for us. Kids should select books that are interesting to them. 

Finally they state,

"We pull out our husband's much-too-large shoes, put them on, and proceed to try to move around the room.  Amid giggles and peals of laughter we point out that these shoes are too big, so they don't fit.  This is just like a book that is either too easy or too hard to read or that we don't understand. The shoes don't fit and neither does the book."

I know how important it is to relate new ideas to schema that kids already know. The shoe analogy is such a fun way to get kids to see how important it is to choose Good-Fit or "just right" books. They already have the skills to properly choose appropriate foot wear so why not extend those judgement skills to selecting books that will help them become better readers.

I will definitely use that lesson with my class next year!

Beyond the Bake Sale

Beyond the Bake Sale- $16.50 at Amazon.com

The presenter at my last Courageous Conversations workshop mentioned this book as a great resource for teachers to help in fostering better parental relationships and involvement.  I have read through the first 4 chapters so far and I really like it. 

Contents

Section I Why Partnerships are Important

chapter 1 Introduction

chapter 2 What Is a Family-School Partnership Supposed to Look Like?

Section II Getting Started: Building the Relationship

chapter 3 Ready, Set, Go! Do You Know if You're Really Open to Partnership?

chapter 4 Developing Relationships: How Can You Build Trust Instead of Blaming Each Other

• checklist- How family friendly is your school?
  

Section III Guidelines for Action From Research

chapter 5 Linking to Learning: How Will Involving Parents Help Your Test Scores?

• checklist-How closely is your school's parent involvement program linked to studentlearning?
  

chapter 6 Addressing Differences: How Can You Deal with Issues of Race, Class, and Culture?

• checklist- How well is your school bridging racial, class, and cultural differences?
  

chapter 7  Supporting Advocacy: How Can "Problem Parents" Become Partners You Can Work With?

• checklist- How well does your school support parents as advocates?
  

chapter 8 Sharing Power: Who's in Charge Here Anyway?

• checklist- How well is your school sharing power and practicing democracy?
  

chapter 9 Scaling Up: Why Can't All Schools in a District Create Strong Partnerships with Families?

• checklist how well does your district support family and community engagement?
  

Section IV Resources and Tools

chapter 10 Help! Where Can You Find Useful Resources to Build Your Partnership?

chapter 11 Tools to Support Your Work: Where Do We Start?

1. attitude check
2. conference checklist
3. developing a code of conduct
4. district policy on family-school partnership
5. family involvement coordinator
6. family welcome questionnaire
7. homework survey
8. needs assessment survey
9. parent review
10. parent volunteer survey
11. school climate survey
12. tips for developing a school family involvement policy

This book is a great resource for teachers who want to help parents understand how to become more involved in their child's school. There are many great checklists to use to determine what ideas/systems are already in place and where a school/teacher may have a need for further development.  

Hiking Holiday

As part of our teaching contract, we get one "floating holiday" which is a day off that we can take at any point in the year for any reason. It's not a sick day, it's not even really a personal day, it's just a free day off. 

I always savor this day and try to think of the best possible time to use it. This year I decided June 5th would be the lucky day. I feel like I have been out of the classroom a lot this year due to the Courageous Conversations team that I am on that works through discussions about racism in education. Our team attended workshops about once every month, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it still feels like I have been absent frequently considering I only took one half of a sick day this entire school year (so far). I don't want to jink myself considering some of my students have now been absent for 5 straight school days! (swine flu!??!)  I was also on the committee for interviewing candidates for the principal position at my school which took me out of class for another day. I feel kind of bad leaving the kids again this close to the end of the school year, yet deep down I know I deserve it-- and I have used the same great sub, so by now she is used to the routine and I know the kids are in great hands. 

My husband decided to take the day off as well so we can play together. We made plans to hike Dog Mountain, which is ironic because I did the same hike about a week before school started this year and now, with just over a week left, I am going for it again. 

There is a beautiful field of wild flowers that peaks just about this time. When I went in August, they were all gone, so I am looking forward to seeing them this time. The hike is about 7 miles and takes between 3.5-4.5 hours. Last time I went all alone because hubby was traveling for work, so it will be nice to have company this time. 

There is only one problem with our fantastic plan....

It is supposed to rain!

We have been having gorgeous weather lately--in the 80's and sunny everyday! The summers in Portland are fantastic, but the rest of the year can be kind of dreary so seeing sun is very exciting. Yet today, a crazy storm blew in just as I was leaving school. The sky was gray and ominous and there was serious wind blowage. On the way home there were tree branches littering the streets and the leaves were blowing around like crazy.  It was thundering and raining and nasty.

When I came home I checked tomorrow's forecast and it looks like rain all day. I am not too happy about that, but I will look on the bright side. Regardless of what we do, we get to spend the day together. We will be sleeping late (and if we don't go hiking), VERY LATE. It is amazing to me how many hours of hard sleeping we put in on Friday nights into Saturday mornings. We are like a couple of hibernating bears! I still hope we get to go on our hike, but worse case we cozy up and watch the remaining 3 Star Wars movies that are waiting for us on the DVR.

The other exciting part about this weekend is the trip to the coast with a group of teachers from my school. We rarely get to hang out in social situations, yet when we do it is always a blast, so I am pumped for some girl talk and good times.

Last bit of exciting news---we booked a trip to Germany today! We leave the day after school lets out, June 20th, and come back June 30th. I have never been to Europe before so I am super stoked and even better, we will get to spend my birthday there! I can't wait! If you have any traveling tips for me shoot me a comment! I would love to get some advice as I have never been out of the country before...