Mosaics by Ronna

As a small side job/hobby, I've started making mosaics. If you're interested in buying one, let me know!


Mosaics by Ronna

All Day Convo

The other day one of my students informed me that I look weird without my glasses. I asked for a clarification... weird or different? He said just different...

A few minutes later, another boy asked me why I haven't been wearing my glasses. I told him because they're broken. He then asked when I'm getting new ones. I explained that I have to go to the eye doctor so he can make new lenses for my frames. I also told him that I was ready to make an appointment because my head has been hurting since I've stopped wearing them.

Later on in the day, when we were not anywhere close to talking about my glasses, another boy asked out of the blue, "How many weeks until you go to the eye doctor?"

Apparently my glasses and the headaches I've been having because I haven't had them are a bigger concern to my 6-year olds than I thought!

Enjoy the Little Things

I had a kid walk into the room today when he was supposed to be in the library. I asked him if he forgot something knowing that he had forgotten his library book. He said yes and then asked me why I hole-punched the green dot for him (that just means he is a step above the easiest level of books). I told him that he had worked so hard that he had earned it. He thanked me with a surprised look on his face and I thanked him for working so hard. He thought for a little bit and replied "You're welcome!" You never know what's gonna brighten a kid's day and make them want to work hard for you until the little things happen. This is why I do what I do every day!

Money Talks

As part of our Positive Behavior System, we give "Bobcat Bucks" when we catch our kids being good without being told. I'm also teaching them about converting their money when they get 5 $1s, they can trade them in for a $5. When they get 2 $5s, they can trade it in for a $10. The boy that I talk about regularly went to count his money when he had a free moment and said, "Miss Glover can I trade you for a $13 because I have $13 and I want to trade it in." I laughed and told him that I only have $1s, $5s, and $10s... no $13s and that in all honesty, there is no such thing as a $13 bill. He was quite disappointed, but I told him that if he gets two more $1s, he could trade me for a $5. That seemed to cheer him up a little...

Today was also Picture Day for all the students. This is the picture that goes in the yearbook. The boy mentioned above came to school in the foulest mood I have ever seen on a 6-year old! I just knew that this day was not going to be normal (which they rarely are when their schedules get out of whack).  He informed the class that he didn't want anyone to look at him, talk to him, or act like he was even there. A few of his friends continued to talk to him as he covered his ears and tried to fold himself into his backpack. After the kids realized that we needed to leave him alone, we went on with our day. Things got better until it was actually time to take pictures. No one came to get us like they were supposed to, so we were late getting our pictures made, which made us have to rush to get to lunch on time. It didn't help that the photographers were taking FOREVER to take each picture. I am so glad that they worked hard to get a good shot of each child, but seriously... it doesn't take 5 minutes to get a good picture of a little girl.

After lunch we came back in the room, and I had to put my game face on. I informed them in no uncertain terms that the behavior this morning was not going to happen for the rest of the day. I started pulling clips left and right and we started our math lesson. I paired them up with linking cubes where we were working on greater than, less than, and equal to. I had one pair that worked so well together! I stopped the class and had each group walk over to look at their table to see what I wanted each of their tables to look like. After that, there were no problems and they started actually working well together too!

We had a hectic day, but hopefully things will get back to normal now that our schedule isn't changing again this week. Oh, wait... We don't have school Monday for Labor Day. Next week will be Round 2 I guess! :)

The Flattery of a 6-year old

I don't know if they've noticed or not, but today is the first day that my students have said anything major about my glasses. One of them asked why I wear them, while another student pointedly answered, "Because she's blind." I told her that I'm not blind, and that I just need them to see when I read. The kids wanted to know why I wear them all the time then, and I said because I'll lose them if I don't wear them all the time. Then they wanted to see what I look like without them, so I took them off. A few of them that don't deal well with change said, "Put them back on. You look better with them on!" One of my boys that I've mentioned before (the one with no filtering system) proceeded to say that if he was a little older and I went without my glasses all the time, that he'd be my husband! I asked him if I should tell my boyfriend that he has some competition where they quickly got distracted and wanted to know about my boyfriend... Talk about short attention span! :) Oh, he got a big grin on his face after I asked him about talking to my boyfriend. Quite funny!

Easy Button

Yeah... there is no such thing when it comes to 1st graders! I have a little girl who shall remain nameless, but anyone who knows me personally has heard and will hear her name regularly as she is the one pushing every button she can find. She argues, interrupts, bosses the other students around, and generally drives everyone up the wall with her mouth (which runs constantly). I'm at my wits end and it's only the 6th day! Not sure what to do... I'm gonna have to pull out the big guns and think of everything I've ever done to deal with trouble children.

On a lighter note, my 16 darlings (including the one noted before) are very sweet children. I know that any time they act out it's because they are starved for attention. It's the case every year...

I also have one little boy that I have mentioned before who also loves to push buttons... He and I are acquiring an understanding though and he's mature enough to understand that even though I fuss at him, I still love him very much and that I just want him to behave so he and everyone else can learn. He has a very dry sense of humor and always has a come back. He has by far the quickest wit I've EVER seen in a 6-year old! He's very fun to banter with and I think that that's my saving grace when it comes to disciplining him.

Week 2 is under way and I'm sure there are loads of adventures ahead... We've already had a few!

Out of Power, But Not Out of Energy

It has been a very interesting day... We had a wicked thunderstorm last night (Praise God!) that caused a lot of chaos in my life for multiple reasons. First of all, it woke me up at 1 in the morning after I had been asleep for 4 hours (yes, I was asleep by 9 pm) when the thunder vibrated my apartment so much that the light fixture in my half bathroom fell off and shattered. Then I get to school that morning and see the electric company working on the lines outside our building. I walk in and the classrooms still have electricity but the hallways are dark. Then I find out that they're turning off all the electricity to the entire building so that they can work on the lines. I hurry to sign in and then my principal instructs us to get all the kids to the East cafeteria (which has walls of windows). Every child that got to school for breakfast (Headstart through 4th grade) was in one cafeteria that usually is for 2nd through 4th grade. It was hot because there was no air conditioning and there were a lot of panicking children who either couldn't find their teacher or couldn't find a place to sit to eat their breakfast. After I got most of my kids rallied, we went outside to get some fresh air before going on to our classroom. My classroom is on the side of the building that has windows, so we could see enough to continue on with our day to some extent. The teachers that have no windows had to stay outside and "entertain" their students for a couple of hours until the electricity was restored. My students were working very well in the dark, but I could tell they were getting restless, so we went for a "nature walk" with a couple of the other 1st grade classes. They were very excited about all the fresh air. By the time we got back, the lights started coming back on, so we headed back to our classroom after a quick juice break. Little did I know that my students' restlessness had not gone away with our walk... It was the 1st rough day of the year lol

Later on... As I was reminding my class every few seconds of our rules while working independently, I was giving out Bobcat Bucks (our positive behavior reward). One of my students that is very outspoken and without much of a filtering system, said, "Miss Glover, you're going crazy!" I asked him, "Now why do you say that?" He so plainly replied, "You're giving out Bobcat Bucks like crazy!" I then told him that I could easily go put them away if he thought that would be a solution to my craziness. He waved a hand at me and said, "No, no, no, don't do that! That's not what I meant!" It was very funny and he quickly realized that Miss Glover is a little quicker than he might have realized... He may have met his match this year... We hope! :)

Maybe tomorrow will be a normal day... but never expect too much normalcy when working with 1st graders!