below the line

I've done a lot of work in my district with Courageous Conversations which focuses on paying attention to the role race plays in learning, instruction, and the institution of schooling. That work influenced my dissertation work and as a result I have done a lot of reading and thinking about what it means to teach in a culturally responsive way. One of the things we learned about/worked on last year in the series of trainings my team did was trying to uncover what is called "below the line" information about students. Below the line refers to information about students that helps you really know and understand them better. Particularly in reference to students that come from cultural backgrounds that differ from my own, getting "below the line"info means getting information about students and their families directly from the students and their families as opposed to making assumptions about them based on their cultural background.

I don't know if it's because I am in the middle of my dissertation work and so I am thinking about getting to know families better or if more experience under my belt makes me more comfortable in talking with parents, but this year I got a lot of below the line info at conferences that really makes me feel like I can understand certain students better. Parents were open and shared with me and for the first time I think I felt more comfortable to probe a little and ask questions. I always fear that asking questions about what they do for a job or who cares for the child after school is going too far, yet truly it helps me get a better picture of the lives my students live.

A few interesting tidbits...

• one student lives in a hotel
• one student has a mom that does Mixed Martial Arts fighting
• one student's dad is Santa Claus (well he is like Santa Claus because he drives a delivery truck for a big company and works extra hours during the holiday season to make sure packages are delivered on time)
• one student has a mother that is getting married soon
• 2 students have moms that are currently working on degrees and they study at night and take courses online
• 2 moms are daycare providers/nannies so they can be home with their kids

Knowing these little things about parents helps me understand my kiddos better and certainly helps me feel more connected to my students and their parents. I definitely want to continue making those types of connections with students and their families because it feels good!

a new way for morning work

Over the summer my teammates and I purchased some plastic magazine holders from the dollar bin at Target...they were $2.00 each, but still a good deal for brightly colored, durable containers. We pretty much wiped out the inventory at all our local Targets to each get a class set, but I am really glad we did because they are working out great for a few reasons.

1. They hold our iPads, headphones, AppCrayons, and morning work folders. That's a lot of stuff for each kid, so the bins or "buckets" as we can them really help each kiddo keep track of his/her stuff. We also have all of those items numbered in the event that they get separated from their specific bucket (which does happen in my room sometimes because we share those items with the PM class).

2. Never before have my kiddos been so accountable for completing their unfinished work. I love it! In the past, if they were late to school or just spent too much time chatting instead of coloring, their unfinished morning work simply went in their cubby and home at the end of the week. There was no follow through for completing it and a lot of work was messy. Same for unfinished math pages--they just went home and were never completed if a child was not able to complete the work during the actual math lesson. Now, however, all of those pages stay in the bucket until they are completed. And, students have to have all of their work completed BEFORE they can get their iPad in the morning, so there's a good incentive for keeping up with morning work. I love how in the morning I see kids taking out things they did not finish and getting those things done before getting their iPads. Work is neater, it's going home completed, and kids are learning about the importance of finishing their work.

When I had two classes in the past,  I just couldn't wrap my mind around having folders for morning work because it seemed like way too much to juggle for two groups of students. I wasn't sure about the storage and the organization and that prevented me from trying it out. This year, with only one group, I decided to try it out and I am really happy with how it's working. Students get their buckets off the shelf in the morning when they come in and keep them at their tables all day until it's time to put iPads away and put the buckets back in their "parking space" (assigned spots so they know where to put it which makes clean up a bit easier). Sometimes the tables can get a bit crowded when the buckets are out, especially table groups with five kids, but we put them on the floor if we need more table space and overall it's a great system.

Target doesn't have the buckets anymore because it was part of their end of summer inventory, but I am pretty sure a store like Really Good Stuff would have something similar. We have always had little mailboxes where kids put their work that is ready to go home, but I'm glad they now have a holding place for projects and things they are still working on.

apologies apologies

Well well well...haven't I been just a completely neglectful blogger recently. I don't think I have posted since the first or second week of school! yikes!

So here are some updates:

My class....is very very very very chatty. The first few weeks were great, but as they have gotten to know each other better and become friends with each other they have started talking up a storm which makes for a very frustrated teacher. I have made a conscious effort to make sure I am providing them times to talk within lessons but it just feels like they don't ever stop! I feel so thankful that I only have one class this year because I honestly don't think I could handle two! I am not sure if it's the fact that our numbers are higher this year or just the mix of kids I have but I feel like I must say "my turn to talk" about five hundred times a day!!!

My baby girl...SIX months old and just so darn cute! I love spending my afternoons with her and seeing her change and develop a personality. She is now rolling all over the place and trying to figure out how to crawl. She doesn't quite get how to do it but I just know it's going to happen any day now. She started eating solids and just loved food. She eyes everything I eat and wants in. She sits in her little highchair and when she gets food she is just over the moon. She has liked everything I've given her except avocado. Go figure...that's one of my favorites! I think she started cutting her first tooth today too!

My dissertation...is coming along slowly but surely. I partnered up with someone from my class so we can share our weekly goals with one another and keep each other on track. I have two afternoons a week when Baby Sneaker is at daycare until 3:00 so I can get some work done. I am currently finishing up my third round of interviews and transcribing so that I can start my data analysis phase. The work is so fascinating, but it's a lot on top of teaching, being a mama, and taking care of the house. I am hoping that the end is in sight, but I have no idea how long data analysis will take.

I hope to continue keeping this blog alive but I just don't have it in me to post frequently about all the stuff going on in my classroom. I will do my best though!

love it

First and foremost I just have to say that I absolutely love working part-time. When my class left at 10:40, I was so relieved that for the first time, I didn't have to do the entire day over again with another group of kids. Yay! I loved being able to pick Baby Sneaker up around 12:30 and then go home and spend some time with her before her afternoon nap. I love that I have some time to get things done around the house while she sleeps and figure out what I am doing with the kiddos tomorrow. We are still getting new registrations, so I am pretty much planning to continue going over behavioral expectations for the next month--maybe by then I will have my "real" class. 

I thought the first day went very well. There are some really stinkin' cute kiddos in my group and I think they are a bright bunch. It's tough at the beginning because there is so much to explain and we don't just dive in to all of the work. It's hard to really get a good sense of the kids from one day, yet I think it will be a fun year. 

There definitely is not as much time as I thought there would be to get things done after they leave. Especially since I need to excuse myself and pump for about 20 minutes after the kiddos leave because I am still nursing. That eats up some time and I need to figure out something productive to do while I am in my tiny pumping room far away from my classroom. Since there is another teacher for the PM, there were still kids and families coming in around 11:50 and that is when I booked it out of there. I want to give the other teacher her space and I can't get much done anyway in the midst of another group's first day. I was hoping to stay until 12, but really my time is over at 11:50, so I left and headed home. 

I saw a few kiddos from last year's class and some of the kiddos from my first year who are now 2nd graders. I love seeing those faces that are now more grown up, but still excited to see their Kindergarten teacher! One little guy asked where my baby was. Haha! I guess they assumed she would be joining me at school this year! 

5 months later

I have not taught since March 23... five months later, it is the eve of the first day of school.

I am so curious to see what tomorrow will bring. 

I am definitely feeling a bit rusty...a little too focused on my sweet Baby Sneaker and being a mama and a little fuzzy on my teachery self. 

I'm getting a huge sense of relief that I only have one "first day" this year because I only have one class and my day will end at 11:50.

I am sure everything will fall back into place tomorrow.

I still haven't decided what to wear! 

Stay tuned for a recap tomorrow afternoon! 

I am predicting 2-3 criers.

Fingers crossed for a vomit free day! 

note to self

Even though it's exciting to get my classroom all set up, which includes putting books and games out on the shelves instead of keeping them stored away in cabinets, tonight I made a few mental notes to remember next year when our Kindergarten supply drop night comes around.

do not leave out your bells-it annoys you when kids/their siblings ring them repeatedly while you try to remain calm and collected while meeting parents

do not put books on the shelves because it annoys you when kids/their siblings take said books off the shelves and leave them elsewhere in the room

do not leave your teacher pointer out on any surface that a child can reach because it annoys you when they pick it up and start playing with it

do not expect parents to keep their children under control because, even though they probably aren't allowed to at home, it seems that running around your classroom and touching everything is acceptable

do not expect parents to clean up after their children who take things off shelves, drop books on the floor, or move things from their proper spots, or pull things down from the walls

::sigh::

I like it so much better when all the parents leave and I can teach the kids what I expect of them in my classroom.

That being said, I have some cuties and I  am pretty sure I will have several criers on the first day. There is one boy in particular that I know is going to keep me laughing all year. He was too funny tonight and told me he can't make it on the first day...

speaking up

There have been a few times recently when I have had to force myself to speak up about something even though I felt pretty nervous/uncomfortable doing so. I don't want to go into specifics because even though I try to keep my "true identity" somewhat low profile on this blog, I know that it's always possible for people I know to come across it and I would never want to write about something personal and then have someone involved come across it and get upset. I don't even intend to use my blog as a place to complain or talk about people I work with, so I will continue to process that stuff in a different way rather than writing about it here.

But even without sharing the details of how/why/when I felt the need to speak up, I think just that small piece is worth talking about. I really really really dislike confrontation and I would consider myself someone who would rather bend or sacrifice to my own detriment rather than offend someone or come off as rude/mean. Maybe it's because I am so sensitive myself, but I just really have a hard time with the thought of pissing someone off or being thought of as argumentative. I want to be liked. I want to be easy going. I want to get along with everyone.

But I am coming to realize that speaking up, not necessarily defending myself, but just stating how I am actually feeling rather than burying that in order to "go with the flow" is really important. Yet, it is one of the most difficult things for me. It reminds me of when I was younger and I had a certain friend that would always say "I don't care." If I asked what she wanted to eat, the answer was I don't care. If I asked what she wanted to drink, the answer was I don't care. If I asked what she wanted to do, the answer was I don't care....Of course you care! Why wouldn't you care. Having an opinion is not a bad thing and sometime I think I forget that. I let my opinions take a backseat to those of others just so I don't rock the boat. I feel like I would rather bend to someone else's preference rather than cause a fight or confrontation. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around speaking up in a way that doesn't come across as rude or overly stubborn.

So in these few instances recently where I finally spoke up, it really required getting up the nerve. I literally rehearsed what I thought I would say because I wanted to make sure I came across as casual and not demanding. I wanted to keep it light and didn't want to create situations where relationships would become awkward. Yet, for all my worrying, speaking up ended up being okay. I was able to express what I wanted/what I needed and neither of the people on the other end were offended or had a problem with what I said. I still think this is a skill that I truly need to work on. I don't know if it is a confidence issue or something else, but for me, speaking up requires a lot of guts and preparation.

Hopefully, with practice, I will find it easier to express my opinions regardless of how it is received on the other end. I think realizing that you can't be liked by everyone and you can't always please everyone is a lesson that I am continuing to learn. Truly, all those cupcake birthday incidents last year were the catalyst to be able to stand my ground on something....

How do you go about letting someone know when you want something to change? 

Are you comfortable with confrontation?

classroom stuff

I dropped Baby Sneaker at daycare this morning (today was her second day) and headed down to my school to spend some time getting things in order. Since I am sharing my room this year, I have all this guilt about doing anything without the permission/presence of my new "roommate," yet I always go in before we officially go back to get the furniture arranged and take care of some organizing things. Especially since I will only have half of the prep time this year during in service, I want to get the show on the road. Although I haven't been able to get in touch with the teacher who will be sharing my space, I decided to go ahead and do a few things. We can always make changes next week to anything she objects to/hates/can't live with. 

As always, I arranged the furniture differently this year because let's face it, there is always a better way to do things. I am hopeful that my new roomie likes what I've done because I like it and would love to keep it the way it is. I wouldn't have done anything without her, but I have a focus group in my classroom on Friday so I need places for people to sit and I didn't want to invite participants to a room where all the furniture is stacked up and everything is in piles. So I did the basic room arrangement and like I said, we can always change it. 

Here is a sneak peak of what it looks like so far...

 I moved my desk from being perpendicular to the window to being perpendicular to the wall because the electrical outlet is along the wall, so the desk should be too...I like how the rocking chair is now up against the desk and I have direct access to my phone now. Also, there will no longer be wires across the floor that kids trip on every time we have a fire drill. 

Safety first!

 I moved my rainbow train from below my whiteboard to the top of the math wall. I plan to label the cars with die cut color words and then add more to that wall including our number parade and 120 chart. I also put a bookshelf there to house all of our math manipulatives.  

 I realized today that my whiteboard is centered in the room, but off center in terms of the space where the student tables are. I would have an easier time arranging them if the white board was positioned 1.5 feet to the left. But, I don't think it's easy to move, so I just tried my best to put the tables in locations where kids can see the board. 

All the colored storage bins will be where the kiddos keep their morning work folders and their iPads. Each bin will have the child's name and photo on it and they will get a special "parking spot" for their personal bin. All of these shelves have shelf space on both sides so I am thinking we can each take a side. That way we can have designated spaces for our stuff and our students will know what items they can use. I am hoping to put some cute curtains over the two shelves to the right so that when I am not there, I can have my personal materials covered up. I think we will share some things, but I also think some things are items I purchased myself that I want to use just with my students. 

I had to pick Baby Sneaker up at noon, so I didn't get everything on my list done. I think I will go back tomorrow and keep plugging away. 

I want it!

Ok guys, I have another cool thing that I learned about from Heidi of Heidi's Songs. She just ROCKS. I am a fan of hers on facebook and several times a day she posts links to great things she has come across. I LOVE this one and I plan to get it as soon as I have the chance to get to Lakeshore.

Check it out...

Here is the direct link to the Lakeshore page.

To start off, in a whole group, the kids take turns taking one little item out of the mystery box. They say what it is and then put the item on the letter that corresponds to the first sound. Basically the purpose of using whole group would be just to familiarize the kiddos with how to do it. Also, that way they get practice identifying all the little trinkets, naming them, and hearing the first sound. 

Then, it can become a small group center or activity for choice time. 

I think this will be very popular in my room this year. Anything with a MYSTERY box is very exciting for little people! 

So much fun!

inspired

I just want to share that I am so inspired by the interviews that I am doing for my dissertation study. I am hearing teachers talk about how they connect with families and how they modify their instruction to better meet the needs of, and connect to, culturally and linguistically diverse students.  I am hearing some great ideas and it makes me really eager to meet my new group of kiddos in a few short weeks and to begin the process of getting to know them and their families. 

I am also excited about two new books I am going to attempt to read before school starts...

 and 

The first one is a new publication from the International Reading Association and I was able to get a free copy for reviewing it here on my blog. Stay tuned for that (hopefully soon). I read just a few pages the other day while I was eating lunch and it's about critical literacy and encouraging critical thinking in children in grades K-6. I feel like "critical thinking" is a huge buzzword/phrase in the common core state standards and I am definitely very interested to learn some strategies for making it part of my Kindergarten classroom. 

The second book has been talked about on lots of blogs this summer as it was the subject of a book study among many bloggers. I am really excited to read it and find some good ideas that are applicable for our iPad grant this year. I'm not sure if there even is a Kindle version, but I got a hard copy so I can share it with my grant team members like Mrs. Bee! 

Little Miss Baby Sneaker is still napping so I think I am going to head down to the kitchen table with my Diet Coke and do some reading until she wakes up. 

What have you read this summer?

Any good professional development books that you would recommend? 

Revamp

Today I started my Literacy Bag revamping project. Since I will now only have one class, I decided to take the bags that I have (currently two sets with about 12 bags in each) and create a new and improved set. I purchased all new bags from Michael's and was disappointed to find that they are now more expensive and cost 2.99 each instead of 2.00. I think in the past I got them on sale at the end of the summer, but since I needed as many as I could find, I wanted to make sure to go before they went on clearance. I purchased 13 new bags and already had a few extras from last year, so I am hoping to make a new set of at least 15 or 16 bags. Ideally, I would have more, but it's expensive to put them together and I will no longer get a double stipend from our PSO, so I have to manage my money more carefully this year. 

This morning I spent some time decorating the new bags...

That was the easy part because I like coloring and drawing.

The more challenging part is making sure each bag has a good selection of 3-5 books related to the bag's theme and an educational activity that kids can do at home with their parents. 

With a really nice donation from DonorsChoose, I was able to create these bags two years ago. I got lots of great books on topics that Kinders are interested in and added some fun games/activities I purchased from Lakeshore. The problem is, over time, many things have gotten lost/damaged/dirty. It's really hard to send things home and have them come back fully in tact. I include an itemized list in each bag that lists all the book titles and all of the items related to the games with specific number counts such as 5 blue letter game pieces, 5 red letter game pieces etc. I indicate in the directions that parents should check the items in the bags against the list before using the bag so that if anything is missing I can check with the family who had the bag the previous week. I also have a parent helper go through all the bags each week to check for missing items. That way, if something is missing, I send home a note saying what was not returned or I send home a note if the entire bag was not returned. I have had pretty good luck with families finding/returning items after notes go home, but there are always instances when things just go missing and don't turn up/don't come back. That is the really frustrating part because then the itemized list needs to be changed so that other families know what items were already missing...

So now that the bags have been in use for 2 years, I need to go back and spruce them up. I will have to go back to my inventory lists and see what items are not accounted for, then try to buy new games so they are complete or just change the list to account for the items I no longer have. 

I always start out wanting to be really strict about these bags, with ideas such as not sending anymore home once a family loses an item or fails to return bags on time more than two times. Yet, ultimately I created these bags so that kids have books and activities at home. It seems counter productive to be punitive things get lost in the process of families using them. On the other hand though, these bags probably average about $20 per bag, maybe more if you add up the cost of the books, the bag itself, the games etc. I hate it when things get lost...especially when books get lost or damaged. One thing I feel the need to be very clear about is that these bags should not be used by the students without parent supervision/involvement and younger siblings should not be permitted to play with the books and materials because I think that is the source of how many things get lost/torn. I always struggle with how to word the letter I send home inviting parents to participate in the literacy bags. I don't want to sound threatening, yet I want to really emphasize that the bags and materials need to be taken care of. 

Some of the things I'd like to say are....

Please don't eat/drink while using them so the bag is returned sticky from a spill or with crumbs inside

Please don't let your child take the bag to his her room and dump everything out so that things get lost under the bed

Please don't let your child dump the bag out in the car

Please don't bring the bag on a weekend trip and leave it at your hotel

Please don't let your toddler chew on a book and tear the cover off

Please don't send the bag back with 2 of the 4 books and say you can't find the rest

I think this year I am going to hold off on sending home the note about these bags until October. Typically I talk about them at Back to School night and give the letter/permission slip then, but I think parents get too much information and the rules about the bags are not entirely absorbed. Maybe if I wait until later in the school year, parents will take more time to read over the information. Some parents are SO cautious and really concerned, yet I get the sense others don't use the bag with their child and then don't seem to care too much/have any idea when things are missing...

I still have a lot of work to do to make these bags ready to go, but I am happy I at least got them decorated. There are still a few more at school, so I will probably have to get some more new bags at Michaels so I can make sure each bag is brand new and redone. I think while I have them at home I will also go through the books and see if I need to order any new books or if I can find any better books to go in them. 

I am thinking maybe I should do a Pete the Cat bag or a Knuffle Bunny bag, yet those are stories that I really enjoy introducing the kids to and seeing their reactions when they hear them for the first time. 

Have you ever used Literacy Bags?

How do you handle parents who aren't responsible?

teacher fashion

I love love love how stores like J.Crew and Ann Taylor Loft give a teacher discount. ATL is 20% and J.Crew is 15%. I am all about savings and when shopping in those stores, full price items can be quite spendy.

The thing is though, although it is great to get a discount, some of their items are just not teacher friendly or at least not Kindergarten teacher friendly.

Take this adorable skirt for example....

(image from ATL website)

I love this look, yet I just can't imagine how criss cross applesauce would work out in this getup. Let's face it pencil skirts and Kindergarten are not a match made in heaven!

I wish that my teachery outfits could consist of looks like this

or this

 (images from J.Crew website)

complete with really cute heels to boot

but, alas, I cannot spend my teacher money on super skinny skirts, dry clean only items, pointy toed and spiky heels, or clothes that only look good when neatly pressed...

I guess I will have to stick with fun accessories like this bubble necklace which I am drooling over from J.Crew. Although, I have hit many a kid in the head with my long swinging necklaces...

(image from J.Crew website)

Both stores definitely offer enough items that are teacher friendly and they also have great sales on top of which the teacher discount can be applied!!! But sometimes I still wish I could dress like an über fancy teacher.

What do you wear to work? 

What are your favorite stores for purchasing work clothes?

What is your favorite teacher discount?

feeling crafty?

It's usually this time of year that I start perusing the internet to find cool ideas that I can steal borrow for my classroom in order to make the upcoming school year new and improved and the best year ever. I already think this year is going to rock because 1. I only have ONE class and will be working part time and 2. We are getting iPads for all our kiddos...but, I'm still on the lookout for other ways I can spice up the classroom and my instruction so that teaching Kindergarten continues to be a blast. 

So, I revived my twitter page in order to read some of the educational tweets posted by educators I follow and I started tuning in a bit more to the educational posts on facebook by none other than Heidi of HeidiSongs. She is the amazingly talented woman who created all the sight word songs that I love and the new CD full of classroom management songs that I am oh so excited to put to use this fall. Several posts from HeidiSongs popped up yesterday on FB and one of them linked to this site and a post about creative ideas for classroom set up. My favorite one involved this...

 what's that you ask?

well, it just so happens to be a rain gutter

creatively used to become these...

rain gutter book shelves?

Yes please!!

I have this one old display book shelf in my classroom and no matter where I put it, it's in the way. It sits against the wall but comes out on a diagonal and the shelves for books just aren't the right size, so many books get hidden in the effort to put them on display. I know those kinds of shelves are expensive, but I don't think it's the most attractive thing and it's frustrating that it doesn't really do a nice job of displaying books which is what it is meant to do...

I started googling rain gutter bookshelves and there are lots of sites with "how to" directions. It seems easy enough to do...if I can enlist the help of Mr. Sneaker. I am not really sure if this is just one of those cool ideas that will never come to fruition or if I can really make this happen in my classroom, but I think they are really cool and I want I want I want!!! Also, these shelves seem pretty compact and therefore flexible enough to put in various places around the room. Math books displayed on the math wall? Yes please! Books related to our sound of the week on the phonics wall? That would be terrific! A short shelf near our morning greeting area to display the daily read aloud?! I am getting really exciiiiited....

So props to Heidi for turning me on to this cool idea!!

I also have been thinking about trying to make some type of curtains that I can put on my bookshelves that could cover games and activities when they are not in use. I am also thinking curtains have the potential to be helpful for the classroom sharing situation I am in because if there are any materials I don't want the other students using, the curtains could function to block out that shelf. I am still not sure what we will and will not share with each other and each other's students, but I am thinking it might be nice to maintain some stuff for my own class. In the process of searching for a good photo of what I am hoping to make I came across this awesome site. Classroom DIY!? I am in love! Baby Sneaker just woke up, but I have a date with that site later today because I bet it has some great ideas to offer. 

What back to school ideas have you all excited?!

speaking of alphabets

Yesterday I posted about my idea for personal alphabets so I had alphabet on the mind and today, while shopping, I found something that every Kinder teacher should have...

I didn't even realize until after I bought it and was heading out that the letter u is missing. There was a little description about the artist and the design is called "Missing U." 

::doh::

I'll just turn that little snaffoo into a teachable moment and ask my kiddos to look and tell me which  letter is missing. 

So, if you want one for yourself...head on over to GAP and pick one up!

A T-shirt is a bit more casual than I wear to teach, but I thought this would be super cute under a nice blazer...and cute shoes of course ;0)

Now, I have to go find a super cute blazer...

Personal Alphabets

Every year I send home a sheet with every letter of the alphabet with a line next to it asking families to write one word for each letter that is important their child or their family. I ask them to complete the alphabet and send it back in so that each week when we focus on a letter, I can use examples from their lives that start with our letter of the week. I send a note explaining why I am asking them to do this and I fill in my own alphabet as a way for them to get to know me as well. I really enjoy doing my own alphabet because I find that it changes every year. If you're interested in the template I created email me at sneakerteacher26@googlemail.com and I will be happy to email you the letter and template. I have both a Spanish and English version (disclaimer: my writing in Spanish may not be perfect!!).

Here is my alphabet for this year

A-adidas (where Mr. Sneaker works)
B-baking (I heart baking cookies)
C-Connecticut (where I grew up)
D-dissertation (I am working on mine)
E-español (I speak Spanish)
F-frogs (I am terrified of them!)
G-Grace (my sweet baby girl)
H-Hawaii (I would love to vacation there)
I-iPads (We have one for every student in Kinder this year)
J- John (Mr. Sneaker)
K-Kindle (I love reading)
L-lattes (my favorite coffee drink)
M-mom (I love being a mama)
N-nieces (I have three)
O-Oregon (I moved here in 2005)
P-pictures (I take tons of Baby Sneaker)
Q-quiet (I can be shy at times)
R-running (I ran a half marathon in 2010)
S-sushi (yum! My favorite!)
T-traveling (I lived in Germany for a year)
U-Up (I love that movie)
V-Villanova (where I went to college)
W-Wright (my maiden name)
X-eXcellent (the kind of teacher I am...hehe)
Y-yellow (my favorite color when I was in Kindergarten)
Z-Zumba (I love to dance)

I don't necessarily expect the families to give details about their words like I did, but that would be great. These personal alphabets are a great way to learn a little bit more about my students and to get them engaged with our letter of the week. I will take the stack of alphabets and read each child's name along with their word and sometimes ask them a question about it if I need clarification. They enjoy hearing their own words because they often don't remember what is on their sheet and they get a kick out of hearing me say names of family members, pets, their favorite foods, places they go etc.

A little sneaker talk

Every once in awhile I remember to put the sneaker back in Sneaker Teacher. I will be honest, exercise and fitness were not at the top of my list while pregnant, but I am starting to get back into the swing of things.  

Starting with...

my old friend that has been in storage for the past three years 

(since we moved to Germany)

It is so crazy how quickly you can lose the stamina and distance you've built up in running in just a matter of a few weeks...so try 40 weeks plus a few more on top of that....

Most of my exercise since Baby Sneaker was born has consisted of walking. Mostly because afternoon naps can be tough and babies fall asleep pretty easily in a stroller. So, between waiting for her to fall asleep and then trying to give her a decent nap, I usually end up walking for about an hour. Not bad, but it's not really helping in the cardio area...so I know I need to pick up running again. 

It's challenging to get back into it, but now that the treadmill is set up in my garage, I can hop on while Miss Baby Sneaker is napping. We got a cool video monitor that clips onto her crib and I can view her through an app on my phone. I put that up on the console of the treadmill and was able to check in on her throughout my run.

I am trying to start back with a 5K each time I run. I'm not super fast and it's tough for me at this point, but it's amazing how motherhood has changed my outlook because as I run along huffing and puffing I think to myself that it's cake compared to giving birth, so as hard as it feels I know I can do it. 

And, on Wednesday I start Boot Camp! I did this camp a few times in the past before I got married and then the following summer, but it's been 4 years since I've attended. It is intense and I've always gotten good results from participating for a month long session. I have already pretty much lost all the weight I gained during pregnancy, but I need to tone up and I'm always interested in increasing my fitness which is definitely in need of a tune up now after such a long period of not exercising all that much. I went in today for my pre-camp measurements and then I will go back after a month of camp to see what has changed. I'm looking forward to getting some stamina back and getting my mile time back down somewhere close to where it was 4 years ago! 

Summer Projects

First off, I have to share that last night I had my first back to school nightmare...isn't July a bit early for those to start?! This one involved not having any lesson plans for the first day of school, not having prepped any materials for the first day of school, a chaotic fire drill on the very first day, and then two dads with guitars...random, yet still stress inducing and surely the first of many to come before I go back to work. 

::sigh::

I always believe that dreams (and nightmares) are very much connected to what is going on in your life though, so I know exactly where this dream came from. Right before bed, I was working on some Kindergarten summer projects so I most definitely had school on the brain. Mrs. Bee posted about some of the summer projects she has beek working on, and I will admit, she is doing the lion's share of the work. But she is super sweet to say that I am being a new mom and that means I have enough on my plate without die cutting thousands of letters. Yes, thousands. She's a rock star. 

So last night, when Mr. Sneaker fell asleep in front of the TV at 8:30, I decided that I should get started on some of the stuff that is my responsibility this summer. You might think that as a new mama I would jump at the chance to go to bed at 8:30, but I just can't. It doesn't happen...

So, I went upstairs and took out the file folder of flags and got to work. Last year, we incorporated flags into our weekly letter work. I chose one country that started with each letter of the alphabet (preferably a country in which the first letter matched the sound that we teach for that letter, so C would be a hard c like Canada instead of China, A would be a short a like Afghanistan instead of Argentina, etc.). I created flag coloring pages for all of the countries on our list and we would introduce a new country for every new letter we learned. Each of us on the team did this a bit differently, so we decided to work together a bit more this year in order to all do what worked best for each of us last year. Does that make sense? Last year, I tried to provide the kids with additional information about each country, yet that was tough because it was hard to find "real" information about countries that wasn't stereotypical. Even talking about food was difficult because it's like telling someone that people in the US eat hot dogs and hamburgers...some people may, but that's not "typical" per se....I really try to be careful when talking about other places that I truly don't know much about because I don't want to give out inaccurate information or make children believe things are a certain way when they're not. The best ones were countries that had meaning for the kids  like a student whose mom came in to share about the country my student had been born in (she was adopted). The mom brought photos, items from the country, and music from the country too. One teacher talked with the kids a lot about what the colors on the flags meant. I liked that idea because it is something consistent we can learn about each and every flag/country. I always taught the kids how to say hello in that country and Mrs. Bee did a few additional words like goodbye and thank you. We decided to divide the list of countries so we would each be responsible to figure out what the flag's colors mean and how to say hello, goodbye, and thank you for the countries on our list. 

I found this great site and it only took me about 15 minutes to write down the meaning of the colors for all of my flags. Then I spent another 15 minutes or so googling how to say those key words in each country's language. Check that off my summer to do list! 

I also did some searching for new ideas on how to do Star of the Week. Our team participated in a series of trainings last year focused on how to be more culturally responsive and we how we do star of the week is one of the things we thought about modifying in an effort to make it more appropriate for various kids and their families. One idea we had is to actually assign two kids each week so that they can work together/help one another/possibly a more fluent English speaker could model language for a less fluent English speaker etc. We also liked the idea of cycling through the class twice so that kids get a second turn to be star of the week once their skills have advanced a bit more by the middle-end of the year. We still have to sit down together and really think this plan through, but I am excited about trying some new things and seeing what we can do to make this more "user friendly" for all parents.

One of the ideas I came across that I really liked was asking parents to send in a letter about their child to read to the class. Suggestions included telling a funny story or writing about why they are proud of their child. I think this idea has potential problems, such as a parent not being able to write a letter in English, but I think it has good potential in terms of being culturally appropriate and being able to learn things about students and their families that we might not learn just by asking a student to bring a family photo. I would be happy to receive a letter written in spanish and could try my best to translate the meaning for the kids, but I would not be able to do this if a letter were written in Marshallese or another native language, so I'll have to think about the potential this has for causing problems for families still learning English. I'm also thinking about the potential for some home visits, but not sure how to work it in and how to get that accomplished now that I have a baby to get home to after school.

I still have a lot of work to do related to finding good apps for our iPads, but I have to balance my Kinder work with my dissertation work and my baby cuddling and dissertation work usually gets a little  bit more attention than Kinder work and baby cuddling gets the most attention of all! 

birthday

It's my birthday!!

Jill and I took Baby Sneaker shopping. 

I got a free coffee at Starbucks.

I have dinner plans with Mr. Sneaker and Jill is watching the baby so we can have a night out. 

Oh happy day!

Target

I found some awesome things in the Target Dollar bins this morning! 

These are PERFECT for my classroom because my tables have paper balloons over them in red, orange, green, blue, and purple.  These were 2.50 each even though they were in the dollar bin, but I still think that's cheaper than elsewhere. I know one of the teacher catalogs has good deals on containers like these, but then you have to pay shipping and can't choose your own colors.

I think I will use the ones on top for student folders that will hold their unfinished morning work. I have wanted to do folders like that in the past, but never did because I couldn't figure out how to organize them for two different classes. Now that I will have only one group, I am hoping to be a bit more organized! 

I am not sure how I will use the other ones, but I really like to color code materials! They might work out for pattern blocks, books, or some other math materials.

Hurry up and head to Target before they run out!!

Nominated

I don't really know what this means...

Maybe Baby Sneaker helped with the fascinating part!

School's Out

School has been out for awhile since I started my maternity leave on March 23rd, but now school is officially out which means I get my playmate Jilly back because she is no longer covering my classes. I went in last week on Thursday which was the last day of school for all grades except half day Kinders and helped her with the end of the year cleanup/checkout stuff.

We found out that since I will be teaching part time, another teacher has been transferred to our school to do the other half that I gave up. So, I will be sharing my room next year. I am not quite sure how that will work out, so Jill and I spent a lot of time just organizing my materials and putting stuff away. I don't want the new teacher to feel like I have the room all set up and she just has to do things my way. So I made a point of letting her know that we'll figure it out together. It's not ideal to share a space, but I would much rather share a space than be transferred to a new school. Beggars can't be choosers.

As much as I would like to not think about school until the end of August, our grant team has a lot of work to do this summer in order to find good apps for the iPads. We also need to do some revamping since we'll need to make time and space for iPad use next year, so I feel like I have a decent size to do list of Kindergarten stuff.

I also have to work on some revisions for my dissertation proposal which is weighing on my mind. I am supposed to get in the revisions ASAP and just haven't sat down to get it done yet! Fortunately, my human subjects application was already processed which means I can start interviewing a lot sooner than I planned! I was hoping to start at some point mid-July but I have two interviews set up for next week! Woo hoo! That means I can prob bump everything up and possible have all the interviews completed before we go back to school! That would be awesome. Then I will have all the transcription and data analysis which is no small feat, yet it only requires me and not planning with others to get it done. I'd much rather take care of all the interviews and scheduling while I have lots of free time.

What are you up to this summer?

Pass

I passed my dissertation proposal.... So, now I am officially a doctoral candidate! Woot woot! 

Baby Sneaker came to cheer on her mama :0)

I thought my presentation went really well, but the questioning part afterwards was really hard. I have two advisers who had read my paper prior to my final draft and then two other professors on my committee who had not, one of which was my adviser for my master's project. So basically I know three of the four committee members fairly well and two of them had given me feedback prior to my final draft. Unfortunately, that meant I got a few surprises from that fourth member. 

I wouldn't expect a dissertation proposal defense to be easy, but I didn't think it would be as hard as it was. I was really comfortable with the content of my lit review and the parts of my paper that relate to teaching, but it was hard to answer the questions about the research methods that I selected. This is my first time creating a research proposal so obviously I am not an expert. And, just like other researchers/scholars out there, there isn't always agreement on how to go about certain things. One committee member didn't exactly agree with how I set up my study, but despite that, I still passed. I do have to go back and revise a few parts of my paper, but that shouldn't take too long and shouldn't be too hard. 

Luckily, I am still able submit my Human Subjects application to get that process started because it can take up to 6 weeks to get approved and I would really like to be able to do my first round of interviews before July is over. Then I can go back and revise the necessary parts during that period of time during which I can't start my research anyway. 

I really wish I was completely dunzo with the proposal paper, but I'm glad I passed. 

Phew! 

P.S Anyone watch the Tonys tonight? The first actor from The Book of Mormon who rang Ricky Martin's doorbell is my husband's best friend's brother! We are so proud of him as he is the new lead in the show on Broadway playing Elder Price!!! Go Nic!!

It's here!

I thought this day would have come and gone prior to Baby Sneaker's arrival, but let's be honest--things take longer when you're pregnant and even longer when you have a baby...

So even though it has taken a little longer than I originally planned for...my big day is here!

Today at 3:30 I defend my dissertation proposal! 

I am excited, nervous, anxious, hopeful, and just a bit stressed.

Basically I have 20-25 minutes to present my power point which is a brief summary of the 80-something page paper I wrote that include a problem statement, literature review, and proposal for my study. Then my committee comprised of my two advisers and two other professors has the chance to ask me questions....hence the reason why it's called a defense because I have to be prepared to dominate those questions!! Then the floor is opened up to anyone else in attendance who has questions. Finally, the committee asks me to leave the room and they deliberate and decide whether or not I pass. 

If I pass then I am officially advance to doctoral candidacy. 

I have worked SO hard for this and although I can't wait for it to be over, I also can't wait to be in the moment because this has been my work for the past three years and I am really excited to share it with my committee! 

My research questions are:

• R.Q.1 What do teachers report regarding the ideas and behaviors they have developed as ways to better understand their culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families as well as to connect instruction to students’ funds of knowledge? 

• What factors influence elementary classroom teachers’ willingness to conduct home visits as an avenue to better understand culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families?
• In what ways are the impacts of home visits reflected in the classroom? 

•  R.Q.2 How do teachers who implement scripted curricula describe the experience of creating culturally responsive lessons intended to specifically connect with their culturally and linguistically diverse students? 

• How do teachers perceive the impact of culturally responsive instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse students in their classrooms?

Rough Day

Today is June 7th, which means that little Miss Baby Sneaker is two months old today. Wow, how times flies! Because Baby Sneaker is now two months old, she needed to go to the pediatrician for a checkup today and get three, yes three mean old nasty shots.

not. fun.

She was so cute when we first got there while the nurse was measuring her height, weight, and head circumference. She was all smiles and coos until shot time and then oh my goodness did she scream. Poor thing! Needless to say Mama Sneaker was not a happy camper either because it's really hard to watch your baby in pain.

After we were finished with the appointment I fed her a bottle in the waiting room and she fell asleep and slept for several more hours once we got home. She was tired out after all that screaming. I was hoping she would be okay when she woke up, but there was definitely some more screaming and crying (and I was right there crying with her because I felt so helpless). After what felt like a long bout of her alternating between screaming and whimpering, she finally fell asleep on my bed and I felt like I needed a nap as well so I decided to lay down next to her. At some point I fell asleep in between emailing my mom and texting my friends to let them know that no, I still had not heard from school regarding whether or not I will be reassigned to a different school next year.

As I drifted in an out of sleep half listening to Kathy Griffin on Bravo (I have become obsessed with Bravo, but usually any of the variety of Housewives are on), I heard the phone ring...

Now, let me tell you that I felt sick to my stomach and stressed all morning. Having Baby Sneaker's shots coincide with this news made for a pretty stressful day.

So, I looked at my phone and recognized the principal's number. As my heart started beating faster and my stomach felt like it jumped to my throat, I answered the call and got the news...

I GET TO STAY!!!! (followed by the two little words "for now")

But, I am not going to focus on the "for now" and just revel in the fact that I made it through this round of switcheroos and I still have my spot at my current school. Wahoo!

I immediately texted, emailed, and called all of the people who I had shared my dreaded news with yesterday and many "yaaaays" were exchanged.

Baby Sneaker woke up from her nap in much better spirits and we were able to finish out our day on a much better note than it started!

Not Feelin' It

I received a call yesterday from school informing me that because I decided to reduce to half time status that I am potentially being moved to a new school next year. I knew that was a possibility when I decided to go half time, but I didn't think it was likely given that I previously taught two sessions of half day Kinder and it's quite easy to just teach one instead of two in order to be half time.

So, I am sick to my stomach waiting to hear the decision that is being made this morning. I decided to go part time so that I could have time with Baby Sneaker and take some pressure off of my plate for next school year because I am a new mom and I will be doing my dissertation research next year, so the idea of having to move my classroom and start fresh at yet another school is making me feel just a bit overwhelmed.

I told my principal that of course I am a team player and will do what I have to do, but I am *really* hoping that I get to stay at my current school. Fingers, toes, and eyeballs crossed! I would be particularly bummed (to put it mildly) to miss out on the iPads that the grant team I am a part of will be getting next year. I think that is the only saving grace for keeping me there because logistically it does make sense to shift me to the other school.

::sigh::

stay tuned....

Kinder Assessments

Oh the joys of assessments...

It's hard enough to fit in all the instruction, but then we have to use ample amounts of time to check in with kiddos one at a time in order to assure they are mastering the skills we are teaching. I actually really enjoy those 1:1 check-ins, yet of course working with one child at a time means finding something for the rest of the kiddos to do that they can do independently and quietly...

My team uses a Kindergarten Assessment to check in with kiddos with regards to what we are teaching and we also do assessments that go along with our phonics program. 

Now, the state of OR is going to add a Kindergarten assessment to evaluate incoming Kindergarten students with the aim or improving Kindergarten readiness skills in pre-K programs. We received an email a few weeks ago about an information session that is going on this evening so Mrs. Bee and I are going to check it out. Apparently the assessment will be piloted next school year in 10 or 15 schools and then it will be state wide in 2013. 

I am not really sure what info we'll get tonight, but I really like the idea of assessing the kids prior to placing them in classes as a way to ensure that there is a mixture of academic levels in each class. I am not sure if the intention is to assess prior to placement or not, so I am really interested to listen at this session tonight and find out the plan.

I'm curious...how do you assess your incoming Kindergarten students and when? 

I can't imagine having to complete a required assessment in the fall as one of the first tasks in Kindergarten. That time should be spent teaching routines and procedures and getting into the groove with the class. I can't imagine having to pull kids one at a time and leave the others to work on something else when expectations and routines are not yet in place. I like the idea of somehow conducing the assessments prior to the start of the school year and it seems like that would be a great way to meet kids and their parents on a more individual basis. Our supply drop can be so crazy (especially with two classes) that I never feel like I get to have an actual conversation with anyone, yet that is the first time we get to meet each other.

I will be sure to fill you in on what I learn tonight!

Heidi

You all have heard of Heidi, right? As in Heidi's Songs? LOVE her. This year I purchased two more of her sight word song CD's so that we now have a song to accompany almost every sight word we cover throughout the year. I LOVE how the kids take to the songs and sing them when it's time for writing. I am by NO MEANS musical myself, but that's one of the benefits of teaching Kindergarten--they don't judge!

So last night I got an email advertising Heidi's new CD with Classroom Management Songs.

::swoon::

Just by reading the titles of the songs, I am already in love with this CD and plan to order it as soon as I finish this post.

Check out these gems...

Music titles include:
1: Back Pack Boogie
2: Follow the Rules
3: When the Bell Rings, Freeze!
4: The Tattling Song
5: No Interrupting
6: Outside Voices, Inside Voices
7: Please and Thank You
8: Is It a Question or a Story?
9: Cover Your Mouth
10: Blow Your Nose
11: The Potty Dance
12: Potty, Potty, Flush, Flush
13: Right Hand, Left Hand
14: Red, White. and Blue
15: The Days of the Week
16: Months of the Year
17: Criss Cross. Applesauce
18: The Tracing Song
19: The Cutting Song
20: The Glue Song
21: Snap That Cap
22: Just Try Your Best
23: The Smarty Pants Dance
24: Line Up
25: I Love My Lunchbox
26: Bonus Track: We Don’t Fight!


I just love the title of Track #8..."Is it a question or a story"...HAHAHAHA. That cracks me up. How many times does a Kinder kiddo raise his/her hand and tell you they have a question...then they roll into this detailed account of seeing a squirrel at their grandmother's house or something....I envision some *kind* redirection with that little ditty next year.  

But seriously, when I read through the song titles, I can just tell that I will use many of them next year (provided I am teaching Kindergarten).  When the Bell Rings, Freeze! Yes please! For some reason, if it's said in a song, it is remembered, so I am all over that one!

Speaking of next year, I just found out that we will no longer be using Fast Track Phonics next year.... I am SO sad about this and a bit annoyed too. Apparently our contract with the company is up so in order to continue using their products we need to renew with additional training which is expensive and with ensuing budget cuts we can't afford it. So, I am not sure what we will be using, but apparently we have to let go of FT. My team LOVES that program, so there may be some secret "unofficial" program usage. It is such a great program and the kids are so successful with it. It sucks that money stands in the way of our students getting educated with a great program that works!

In other news I have an official date for my dissertation proposal defense. June 8th is the big day! I am beyond excited for this presentation/defense and cannot wait to do it. My power point presentation is pretty much ready and so basically at this point I have to submit my paper to the committee two weeks prior to the defense (this Friday) and then they have a chance to read it before my presentation. Then I present a summary of the paper to them and they ask me questions about my intended research and if they like what I say, I pass!

YAY!

I found out the other day that the paperwork to appoint my dissertation committee was processed a whole lot faster than I was told it would be. Woo hoo! I was told it would take 6 weeks minimum and it only took about 1. Thank goodness because I was getting really worried about not being able to start collecting data until the fall. This way, I can utilize my free time over the summer! My proposal draft is pretty much done so all that needs to happen now is my committee needs to agree on a date and time for me to present. Hopefully everyone will be available to do it in early June. It's so weird that now I have to take childcare into consideration when planning my defense date! I am hoping that I get a 3-5 PM time slot and then Mr. Sneaker can just leave work early that day (if he is in town) and be with Grace while I get my academia on.

Baby Sneaker was a champion napper yesterday and allowed me to get a lot of work done. Mr. Sneaker has been out of town for business so I have been doing the single mom thing this week. I feel very lucky to have a great baby that is a good little sleeper, but obviously it's much harder to get stuff done when taking care of her is a priority. Her long nap in the pack and play yesterday was clutch and I feel like my proposal, my Human Subjects application, my abstract, and my power point presentation are all pretty much done. Woo hoo!

I felt so accomplished after all that work that I was motivated to go on my first post baby run. I ran 26 minutes with the BOB stroller and Baby Grace slept through it all (even after that other long nap!). I love my jogging stroller and feel like jogging with baby in tow is the only way to get in exercise these days. My goal is to work my way back up to a 10K by my birthday which is June 26th.

Incredible

Wow. That is just about all I can say...

My colleague just called me to let me know that our grant application for iPads was approved.

That means every single Kindergarten student at our school will have his/her own iPad next year to use in the classroom!!!!!

The possibilities of what we can do with this are endless :0)

In other news, I brought baby Grace to school yesterday so my students could see her. They were so excited and so cute. They loved her painted toe nails. They were so curious to see what color her eyes are because she was asleep. And, they were SO excited to tell about all of their missing teeth! It was really nice to visit with all my little friends and to see my friend Jill doing such a fabulous job with them.

Some of my favorite comments...

I wish I could pet her like a dog (and that was from a 5th grader passing by)
She has pretty blue eyes...like you!
How do you know she's a girl?
Do you have her food with you? (I am breastfeeding so that one made me chuckle as I replied that yes, I did have her food with me)
Are you going to be our teacher tomorrow?

Appreciation

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!!

Right now Baby Sneaker is cuddled up against me in a Moby wrap. Thank goodness for baby products that allow mommies to use both hands while still getting good cuddle time with their babies. The Moby is complicated to wrap/tie, but once it's on, I get a few hours of time to get things done while Baby Sneaker sleeps. I sent this picture to my staff this morning. I miss the friends and other teachers from school, yet at the same time my life is filled with a new contentment that I never imagined having from being in my house all day. It's not like I am home all day everyday and never leave the house, but being an at home mom for the time being certainly is a lot different than being a busy working lady. But I love it. There is a fabulous sense of schedule-free happiness that doesn't exist when I am working. Teachers operate on on such a tight schedule at school and I feel like I thrive on schedules, but it's really nice to go with the flow a bit more. Baby Sneaker rules the roost and we do things according to what she wants when she wants. Eventually, when she is old enough, we will have more of a schedule, but for now, I am enjoying a bit of aimlessness. I will make a plan of a few things I want to get accomplished each day, but if they don't get done, I don't worry about it. 

I finished reading Multiplication is for White People and I really enjoyed it. I found a couple of great quotes and points to add to the literature review in my paper. Although Lisa Delpit focuses on meeting the needs of Black students, her points apply to my thoughts about culturally and linguistically diverse students as well. Now all I need is for 10 teachers from my district to be just as interested in the topic as I am so my class can run this summer!!!

I worked a bit on the abstract for my dissertation proposal last night. I have class next weekend and it's due. I have also been working on the Human Subjects application and the proposal draft here and there whenever I get time. I think I am in a good place considering I probably won't be able to defend until fall so my plan is to just continue refining it until it's time to present and defend. 

I have been hearing awesome things about the book 50 Shades of Gray. I haven't purchased it for my Kindle yet because from the sounds of it, I will get sucked in and won't do anything else until I finish reading it...Have you read it?? What did you think? Scandalous??