The Case of the Fallen Monitor

As promised yesterday I will share the story about the computer monitor...

Friday, I took my students to the computer lab. We have been doing this each and every Friday since school began. They entered the lab just like they have for 36 weeks, but this time tragedy stuck the room. I heard a gasp and turned to see on of the computer monitors hanging from the wires off the edge of the table. So miss calm and cool walked over to investigate. The kids told me what happened...and it sounded like it was just an accident. I have learned this year that my kids do actually tell me the truth about what happens. So, I believed that the table was bumped and the monitor was unstable and just fell. It is totally possible.

I reported the accident to the lady in charge of the computers and she said it was ok and that she would fix it. Well my AP saw her carrying the monitor out of the lab and questioned her. Therefore, emailing me about the children. He called them into his office and freaked them out. Personally, I don't think that is fair... to freak out a child but no one asked me.

As it stands, the kids are not in trouble, I stood up for them and told my AP that it was an accident and there was no horseplay involved... but it was funny when I told the boys they had to pay for it... the told them I was kidding!!! I am so evil sometimes.

The Case of the Missing Sleeves

It never fails... if you leave a child to their own devices, something out of the ordinary will occur. I was working the room (going around and checking work) when I look up and shake my head. One of my girls is cutting the sleeves off of one of my boy's shirt.
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

How do I react?

WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOUR MOM IS NOT GOING TO LIKE THAT!!!

He then looks at me and tells me that she will not care, and part of my believes him. So I take the scissors and finish the work. He would have look silly with one sleeve missing and the other with holes in it. So I finished the job...

Tune in tomorrow for the case of the fallen computer monitor.

You never what they will do.

Thursday

I have been thinking all day about what to write about. Nothing crazy or outrageous happened today. This kids worked hard and were well behaved... The one thing I can say is that as the end of this year draws to a close, my heart gets more and more sad. This group of kids has been my favorite of all 4 years. My first class was special because they were, the first. There have been amazing children that will have a special place in my heart, but as far as the whole class, this one takes the cake.

My kids make going to work a joy. They challenge me and push my every day. They love me and I of course love them. They have been wonderful and caring. I have been so blessed to have been able to teach them. I am sure these kids will do great things in the future and I can not wait to see who they become.

Superstar

Today we took our annual field trip to the middle school. Each year we take the 5th graders to see the middle school and give them a taste of what next year will be like. The 5th graders are always terrified when they go. They have all heard all these horror stories about the middle school that they will attend. It is not a bad school or any different then any other middle school, they just think it is.

As much fun as it is to watch the 5th graders tremble in fear of middle school, this is not my favorite part of the day. I LOVE to see all my former students who now attend middle school. This year was especially special because my first class is now in the 8th grade, so I knew many of the students I saw. Everywhere I turned I was greeted with "HEY MISS FINNEGAN" and waves of delight. It was really fun to see all their happy faces. The best part was seeing my favorite 7th grader, who pretended not to know me and getting tackled by one of my student's from last year.

I tell you what... I felt like a SUPERSTAR. Everywhere I went someone was calling my name and waving just like I was a famous movie star. Like I said yesterday, the kids are the reason why I do what I do. Seeing their faces filled with joy at seeing me, made me feel special. Most of all it made everything I do and did all worth while.

Gift

Today started with the best speaker ever. The mother of one of our 1st grade teachers, who is also one of the vice superintendent of Gwinnett County Schools, came to speak to the mentors and mentees. She spoke to us about holding fast to our dreams and making sure that we are dream makers and not dream breakers when it comes to our children. She was amazing and I am glad she came to speak to us. She reminded us why we do what we do. This was a much needed refresher with the stress of the end of the year looming and moral being low at the school.

As for the gift... There was a beautiful red rose on my desk this morning. It was from one of my boys. He is a sweet sweet young man and I love that he is in my class. He requires a lot of love and attention because he has a hard time remembering things. He is currently being tested for special education. He was gone most of the day with our Psychologist. My student told him, the psychologist, that I was by far his most favorite teacher. That made my day. It was a reminder of why I do what I do. To touch, teach, and change the lives of children.

I LOVE MY JOB AND I LOVE MY KIDS!!!

Prayer

Today is the national day of prayer. The one thing that I believe that needs the most prayer is my job. I am with 25 children for 8 hours a day. I make decisions for them to keep them safe. I make decisions on what and how to teach them. The one decision that I have made that is easy... is to love them. I see some of them more then their parents do. I may also be the only Jesus that they ever see.

So I ask that you pray for teachers. Pray for their discernment. Pray that they get enough rest and relaxation. Pray that God will bless them with the tools they need to be best teachers they can be. Most of all pray that teachers and administrators will make decisions based on what is best for the children. After all...it is all about the children.

Picnic

Today was the annual 5th grade picnic. WOOO HOO!!! It was a fun day where the kids got to romp and play with their friends. The teachers do very little at the picnic other than supervise.


This event was created so that the children can be with their friends and celebrate the culmination of their 5th grade year. Now of course, the teachers have to get in on the action. I walked between 4 and 5 miles and had the opportunity to shoot my AP with a water gun. I also climbed up a rope structure and had one of my students take a picture of my behind as I was climbing.

So all in all, it was a wonderful day!!!

Re-test

I discovered that no matter how many bribes or incentives you wave in front of a child, sometimes they will do whatever they please. Despite the external rewards, my friend that I told you about yesterday wrote 3 sentences!!! 3... just 3. Not 3 paragraphs or pages but sentences. I guess that is better than 3 words or the circle he drew for his benchmark. Oh well there is only so much I can do and then it is all in the hands of the kids. God help me!!!

I guess we will see what happens.

The Gift of Love

Today I had the opportunity to give the give of love!!!

One of my boys is having a very difficult time. He is frustrated because he did not pass the 5th grade writing test and has to retake it tomorrow. This boy has a vivid imagination and has wonderful stories to tell, but has no desire to write. He literally walks circles around my room during writing time. He drew a circle today for his writing benchmark. Since he has such a road block when it comes to writing, I had to pull out all of the stops.

His second grade teacher is one of the nicest most loving women I have ever met. She told me that if I EVER needed her to call her. I asked her to come and eat lunch with my special friend and give him some encouragement. He was beaming as soon as he realized that she was there to eat with him. My eyes filled with tears as I was thanking her and saw how happy he was. I hope it is enough to get him to write a beautiful piece tomorrow. I also hope that he realizes how my we both love him and know how great he can do.

This just goes to show that even when a teacher is retired, she still love teach and love children.