Kids Say the Darndest Things (& Other Recent Happenings)

Sometimes my 2nd graders say really funny/cute things. Here are the best so far:


"Miss Holloway? Hey! That's like Miss Halloween!!"

"What if your name was Mrs. Santa Claus? Then you'd be really sweet!"


"MRS. Holloway, I wonder when you can come over and have dinner with my family." (It should be noted that this was spoken as a statement, not a question.)


"A fairy came to my house last night!!"




And some more recent ramblings:


I have been teaching math and writing this week and it is going pretty well. I feel pretty comfortable teaching math, but tomorrow is my first observation and I am SUPER nervous. My lesson is on story problems with not enough information, which is hardly an exciting topic, but I'm going to try and make it interesting by utilizing the SMARTboard and allowing the students to come up and use it. I know that this is all about learning and my supervisor's comments will only help me to become a better teacher, but I'm still nervous. Hopefully it will go okay. An update will be coming tomorrow with the results.


In other news, yesterday I attended the FIRE UP! Conference, which is a conference for student teachers intending to fire us up for teaching. We were able to choose seminars to attend throughout the day that were of interest to us. The ones I chose were all really great. The best one was by Bill Cecil who, if you don't know, was the Michigan Teacher of the Year in 2003-2004. He is an extremely influential teacher and has written a book called Best Year Ever!. This book outlines his vision of teaching and provides strategies and resources for teachers to help them create a positive and successful classroom environment. So far the book has been amazing and he was truly one of the best speakers I have ever heard! I encourage you to visit his website at www.bestyearever.net. 

Here is the synopsis of his book:

Best Year Ever! provides teachers with proven classroom management strategies that can turn any classroom into a caring community, complete with high morale, infectious enthusiasm, and increased performance.

This powerful teaching guide gives you the needed tools to build a successful team where individuals work together to achieve shared goals while striving for personal best.  Instead of wasting precious time and frustration trying to continually put out brush fires in your classroom, you will have more time to enjoy doing what you entered this profession to do.  Teach!

You will discover how to create a learning environment where...

• People care for one another.
• There is trust between teachers, students and parents.
• There are no feelings of "Us vs. Them."
• Everyone feels they have worth and respect.
• Spirits are high.
• Students work together, solve problems, and generate new ideas to enhance learning.
• The positive environment encourages students to take risks and try new ideas.
• Mistakes are seen as a chance to grow.
• Students help other students because they feel confident and good about themselves.
• Pride shows through in everything.
• Students are happy.
• Parents are unified.