This morning I was pulling my kids homework out of their folders and I came across a note from one of my students. It said: "to Teacher: from: Jordan Thanks Miss Parkinson for teaching me times. Watch! 5x9=45 6x5=30"
The other day we learned how to multiply by 5! The kids were so excited- they feel so grown up being able to do their times facts. And it was so wonderful to see them being so excited. Its a simple thing, just being able to mulitply by 5, but it means so much to them. They feel so proud that they can do this.
And that's why I wanted to be a teacher; that's why I wake up incredibly early every morning to go teach them. To see the light in their ideas when they understand a new concept; to see the excited face of a kid who finally gets a hard problem they've been trying to master; to see the smile of a kid who just got 100% on their spelling test for the first time.
And all the days aren't always peachy. There are days when I come home exhausted and worn out from a long day of trying everything under the sun to get my kids to stop talking and listen for two minutes so I can teach them something. They fight with each other and whine and cry and it becomes a long and frustrating day sometimes.
But the little moments like the note in the homework folder, or my kids sprawled out all over the room reading books, or doing an art project with them, or laughing and playing on the playground. All those good moments outweigh the long days and frustrating times. And that is why I wake up every morning and go into work; those good moments are the reason I'm doing this :)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Adventure #24: March Madness
I do not follow basketball closely at all, but somehow I find that this title is almost always fitting to this month! I cannot believe that this coming Friday will be the start of another month- I don't know where the weeks fly away to :) Anyway, here's what I've been up to!
The beginning of March was filled with looking forward to spring break and getting ready for student led conferences. Conferences were actually really fun to do; the spring conferences at our school are student led so I didn't have to do too much during the actual conference which was nice! Before conferences I put together portfolios of my students work throughout the year! During the conferences the kids took their parents on a tour of the room and then showed off their portfolio. It was so fun to see how proud they were of their room and of their work! It was amazing to see how far they have all come! I am so proud of each and every one of them and how far they have come so far this year! It is incredible to look back to the things we were doing at the beginning of the year compared to what we are working on now! At the beginning of the year my kids could barely write sentences or do addition facts and now they are writing stories and doing addition and subtraction and even multiplication facts! Its amazing to see how much they can grow in less than a year!
After conferences came spring break! I was very ready for a break from school and very ready to relax and spend some time by my pool! And while I did get to do a little of that, my spring break looked a little different than I expected. My grandpa, who we always called Boompa, passed away the Wednesday before break. He was diagnosed with cancer about a month before and declined really quickly. So instead of my family coming here to visit me as they had planned, we all flew down to Texas for the funeral and to help clean out the house. I was a little bummed that my family could not come here to see my apartment and classroom and everything, but I'm so thankful I was able to be there to support my dad and the rest of my family! It was wonderful to see my immediate family as well as many aunts and uncles and cousins I hadn't seen in a long time! It was sad to realize and think about the fact that both of my grandparents on that side are now gone, but I know that they are both in a better place now! They are reunited once again at the foot of our Lord Jesus and I am so thankful I can take peace and comfort in knowing that I will see them again someday!
All the "big" cousins at the funeral: Megan, Amy, Dianne,Sarah, Me, Janna, and Jonathan
The funeral was on Saturday and we took Sunday off and went to the beach with some of our cousins. It was fun to play in the sand and see the little kids enjoy the ocean! Then we spent several days cleaning out and organizing my grandparents house. Its amazing how much stuff you can collect over a lifetime :) I flew back to Arizona on Wednesday afternoon and the rest of my family left on Thursday driving my dad's new truck and a u-haul trailer full of treasures back to Minnesota. I was able to spend a few days by the pool and hanging out with friends here. I even went hiking with the Light girls one morning! All in all, although it wasn't the spring break I was expecting, it was still a good one!
Janna's adorable daughter Karys enjoying the beach for the first time!
The expert sandcastle builders: Megan, Jonathan, and his sweet little girl Jaydn.
Me and the hiking divas, Lexi and Reese, at Piccacho Peak
The first week back to school was a little rough. My kids seemed to have forgotten many of the routines and procedures in all their fun over spring break :) But it was still wonderful to see them again and to be back doing what I love to do! And by Friday I think my kids had things figured out again!
Ashley and I are busily making preparations for the Aladdin Jr. Musical our drama club is putting on the end of May. There seems to be something new to do popping up at least once a week, but it is coming together! Our drama kids are wonderful and I am looking forward to seeing what a wonderful job they will do!
I hope you are all doing well and that spring is starting to poke its head out for you :) I promise I will blog again soon...at least I will try my best! Love you all!
The beginning of March was filled with looking forward to spring break and getting ready for student led conferences. Conferences were actually really fun to do; the spring conferences at our school are student led so I didn't have to do too much during the actual conference which was nice! Before conferences I put together portfolios of my students work throughout the year! During the conferences the kids took their parents on a tour of the room and then showed off their portfolio. It was so fun to see how proud they were of their room and of their work! It was amazing to see how far they have all come! I am so proud of each and every one of them and how far they have come so far this year! It is incredible to look back to the things we were doing at the beginning of the year compared to what we are working on now! At the beginning of the year my kids could barely write sentences or do addition facts and now they are writing stories and doing addition and subtraction and even multiplication facts! Its amazing to see how much they can grow in less than a year!
After conferences came spring break! I was very ready for a break from school and very ready to relax and spend some time by my pool! And while I did get to do a little of that, my spring break looked a little different than I expected. My grandpa, who we always called Boompa, passed away the Wednesday before break. He was diagnosed with cancer about a month before and declined really quickly. So instead of my family coming here to visit me as they had planned, we all flew down to Texas for the funeral and to help clean out the house. I was a little bummed that my family could not come here to see my apartment and classroom and everything, but I'm so thankful I was able to be there to support my dad and the rest of my family! It was wonderful to see my immediate family as well as many aunts and uncles and cousins I hadn't seen in a long time! It was sad to realize and think about the fact that both of my grandparents on that side are now gone, but I know that they are both in a better place now! They are reunited once again at the foot of our Lord Jesus and I am so thankful I can take peace and comfort in knowing that I will see them again someday!
All the "big" cousins at the funeral: Megan, Amy, Dianne,Sarah, Me, Janna, and JonathanThe funeral was on Saturday and we took Sunday off and went to the beach with some of our cousins. It was fun to play in the sand and see the little kids enjoy the ocean! Then we spent several days cleaning out and organizing my grandparents house. Its amazing how much stuff you can collect over a lifetime :) I flew back to Arizona on Wednesday afternoon and the rest of my family left on Thursday driving my dad's new truck and a u-haul trailer full of treasures back to Minnesota. I was able to spend a few days by the pool and hanging out with friends here. I even went hiking with the Light girls one morning! All in all, although it wasn't the spring break I was expecting, it was still a good one!
Janna's adorable daughter Karys enjoying the beach for the first time!
The expert sandcastle builders: Megan, Jonathan, and his sweet little girl Jaydn.
Me and the hiking divas, Lexi and Reese, at Piccacho Peak The first week back to school was a little rough. My kids seemed to have forgotten many of the routines and procedures in all their fun over spring break :) But it was still wonderful to see them again and to be back doing what I love to do! And by Friday I think my kids had things figured out again!
Ashley and I are busily making preparations for the Aladdin Jr. Musical our drama club is putting on the end of May. There seems to be something new to do popping up at least once a week, but it is coming together! Our drama kids are wonderful and I am looking forward to seeing what a wonderful job they will do!
I hope you are all doing well and that spring is starting to poke its head out for you :) I promise I will blog again soon...at least I will try my best! Love you all!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Adventure #23: The Zoo!!!
I survived the field trip!!! We went to the Tuscon zoo today with the whole 1st grade. It was quite the adventure but it was a blast as well.
It is an hour long bus ride to the zoo and we were a little nervous about what in the world the kiddos were going to do. But thankfully we are creative teachers. Ashley and I taught our kids how to pump their arms up and down to get semis to honk! Their reaction when a truck actually honked was amazing! Their faces lit up and they cheered so loudly :) It was great. But then they got bored with that and we started a sing a long. The wheels on the bus, There was a farmer had a dog, Yankee Doodle, Row, row, row your boat; it was quite entertaining!!
The zoo itself was awesome. The animals were so cool to see and it was great to see the kids reactions. I think their favorite seemed to be the giraffes. They were pretty cool! My group even saw a monkey play hide-and-seek with us. :) It was so fun to be in a more relaxed atmosphere with the kids- to get to be goofy with them and see their faces light up as they looked at the animals and goofed around on the bus. It was a fun trip, but I'm exhausted :) So off to a relaxing weekend of grading I go :)
It is an hour long bus ride to the zoo and we were a little nervous about what in the world the kiddos were going to do. But thankfully we are creative teachers. Ashley and I taught our kids how to pump their arms up and down to get semis to honk! Their reaction when a truck actually honked was amazing! Their faces lit up and they cheered so loudly :) It was great. But then they got bored with that and we started a sing a long. The wheels on the bus, There was a farmer had a dog, Yankee Doodle, Row, row, row your boat; it was quite entertaining!!
The zoo itself was awesome. The animals were so cool to see and it was great to see the kids reactions. I think their favorite seemed to be the giraffes. They were pretty cool! My group even saw a monkey play hide-and-seek with us. :) It was so fun to be in a more relaxed atmosphere with the kids- to get to be goofy with them and see their faces light up as they looked at the animals and goofed around on the bus. It was a fun trip, but I'm exhausted :) So off to a relaxing weekend of grading I go :)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Adventure #22: February!
Apparently its time for me to update my blog- I've had several people let me know they are waiting for a new post :) Thanks Mandi and Laura!
The month of February has flown by! School is busy as always. I continue to try and find ways to keep my crazy kids quiet and under control- some days it works better than others. :) The drama club is taking on the production of a musical, Aladdin Jr. It is turning into quite the adventure and I'm sure there will be several posts to follow about the whole production.
The first weekend in February I went to California with Marvin and Stacey Light! We visited Marvin's friend Robin and had a blast hanging out in the hot tub and visiting a mission (San Juan Capistrano) and eating dinner on a rooftop resturant by the ocean! It was a great weekend! And the mission was beautiful!!
The next week I got a little worn down and sick- I think it was a combination of lack of sleep and sinus stuff! It took me a while to catch back up, but I am doing well now! Then it was the end of another grading period, which brings a round of submitting a million and one grades and starting new book reports!
Then it was Valentine's day and birthday week! I went out to dinner with the Lights for Valentine's day- it was Marvin's dad's birthday. Then on Wednesday it was Lexi's birthday so we went out to celebrate her day as well! Then Thursday night, my aunt Crissy flew in to visit me! She spent Friday visiting a college friend and we hung out the rest of the weekend! Unfortunately the weather was crappy for her-dust storms and rain storms and cloudy cold days- but we had a blast! We got pedicures and relaxed in massage chairs for a long time, then went to the Arizona Science Center to check out the Body Worlds exhibit, which was awesome! The rest of the time we pretty much hung out and caught up and watched movies! It was so great to have her here and to be able to show off my life and my world down here :)
This week is our zoo field trip- I'm sure that will prove to be quite the adventure! Until next time :)
The month of February has flown by! School is busy as always. I continue to try and find ways to keep my crazy kids quiet and under control- some days it works better than others. :) The drama club is taking on the production of a musical, Aladdin Jr. It is turning into quite the adventure and I'm sure there will be several posts to follow about the whole production.
The first weekend in February I went to California with Marvin and Stacey Light! We visited Marvin's friend Robin and had a blast hanging out in the hot tub and visiting a mission (San Juan Capistrano) and eating dinner on a rooftop resturant by the ocean! It was a great weekend! And the mission was beautiful!!
The next week I got a little worn down and sick- I think it was a combination of lack of sleep and sinus stuff! It took me a while to catch back up, but I am doing well now! Then it was the end of another grading period, which brings a round of submitting a million and one grades and starting new book reports!
Then it was Valentine's day and birthday week! I went out to dinner with the Lights for Valentine's day- it was Marvin's dad's birthday. Then on Wednesday it was Lexi's birthday so we went out to celebrate her day as well! Then Thursday night, my aunt Crissy flew in to visit me! She spent Friday visiting a college friend and we hung out the rest of the weekend! Unfortunately the weather was crappy for her-dust storms and rain storms and cloudy cold days- but we had a blast! We got pedicures and relaxed in massage chairs for a long time, then went to the Arizona Science Center to check out the Body Worlds exhibit, which was awesome! The rest of the time we pretty much hung out and caught up and watched movies! It was so great to have her here and to be able to show off my life and my world down here :)
This week is our zoo field trip- I'm sure that will prove to be quite the adventure! Until next time :)
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Adventure #21: The 100th Day of School!!!
We made it to the 100th day of school! I can't believe it- I can't figure out where in the world all that time went. I feel like yesterday I was sitting in our apartment for the first time wondering what in the world I got myself into :) Sometimes I still wonder what in the world I got myself into! But I love my job and I love my students and I wouldn't trade it for anything right now. There are definitely days where I want to quit- days when I don't feel good and my students seem to never stop talking! But then I get some sleep and slow down and take a deep breathe and realize, they are just kids. They are kids who may be very talkative some days, who may not want to listen some days, and who can be perfect angels on other days!
Yesterday one of my students came up to me and said, "Miss Parkinson, thank you for teaching me how to draw stars!" It kind of threw me off a little, because it was such a random thing to thank me for, but she was really sincerely thankful. The kids were supposed to draw stars on their math paper and lots of them didn't know how to and were complaining as such, so I stopped for a minute and showed them how to draw stars. It was such a little thing, but this little girl was so excited to be able to draw stars. And its moments like this that remind me why I am a teacher. There have been lots of moments in the past couple weeks where I have really been able to see growth in my students- growth in their knowledge of the world around them and growth in their behavior. Its been awesome to see students who at the beginning of the year were driving me up the wall and back down again, now able to sit in their seats for most of the day and raise their hands when they have a question. I have really begun to feel like my students are learning something from me-and that's a great feeling :) That's the thing that keeps me waking up those days when I'm not feeling so well, keeps me going back after days that weren't so much fun, and drives me on through the mounds of papers I have to grade and file and keep track of :) Speaking of which, I better get on with getting those grades in the computer!
Yesterday one of my students came up to me and said, "Miss Parkinson, thank you for teaching me how to draw stars!" It kind of threw me off a little, because it was such a random thing to thank me for, but she was really sincerely thankful. The kids were supposed to draw stars on their math paper and lots of them didn't know how to and were complaining as such, so I stopped for a minute and showed them how to draw stars. It was such a little thing, but this little girl was so excited to be able to draw stars. And its moments like this that remind me why I am a teacher. There have been lots of moments in the past couple weeks where I have really been able to see growth in my students- growth in their knowledge of the world around them and growth in their behavior. Its been awesome to see students who at the beginning of the year were driving me up the wall and back down again, now able to sit in their seats for most of the day and raise their hands when they have a question. I have really begun to feel like my students are learning something from me-and that's a great feeling :) That's the thing that keeps me waking up those days when I'm not feeling so well, keeps me going back after days that weren't so much fun, and drives me on through the mounds of papers I have to grade and file and keep track of :) Speaking of which, I better get on with getting those grades in the computer!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Adventure #20: Sunny Winter Days
As I look through my facebook newsfeed I often come across people discussing the lovely frigid weather in Minnesota, and it makes me miss the snow and winter just a little bit :) But then I walk out into the sunny 70 degree weather and I don't miss it very much at all! You are welcome to come on down and sit by my pool anytime :)
School is continuing to go well! The past couple of weeks I have really felt on top of everything and its a wonderful feeling. Its great to be able to come home at night and sit on the couch watching TV and not feel like there is something I should be doing or grading. The biggest problem I have encountered in the past couple weeks is an accident epidemic. I haven't had any issues with this all year long and all of a sudden in the past week, I've had 6 accidents. Maybe I'm being too mean and not letting them go to the bathroom or they are drinking too much water or what, but its been a little nuts. Thankfully we have a wonderful nurse who takes good care of the poor kids :) Hopefully this week will be accident free!
Hope you are all staying nice and warm! And just remember, if you ever need a break, this lovely pool is just waiting for some visitors :)
School is continuing to go well! The past couple of weeks I have really felt on top of everything and its a wonderful feeling. Its great to be able to come home at night and sit on the couch watching TV and not feel like there is something I should be doing or grading. The biggest problem I have encountered in the past couple weeks is an accident epidemic. I haven't had any issues with this all year long and all of a sudden in the past week, I've had 6 accidents. Maybe I'm being too mean and not letting them go to the bathroom or they are drinking too much water or what, but its been a little nuts. Thankfully we have a wonderful nurse who takes good care of the poor kids :) Hopefully this week will be accident free!
Hope you are all staying nice and warm! And just remember, if you ever need a break, this lovely pool is just waiting for some visitors :)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Adventure #19: You know you lived with someone too long when...
You wear the same outfit to school without even talking to each other! Ash and I got back from break and realized we bought the same shirt in different colors (this happens fairly often by the way). This morning I got up to work out (there were way too many Christmas cookies involved in my break!) and I was in the bathroom when Ash left for school and didn't see her before I got to school. Well we maybe need to check with each other before we get dressed because I walked into the copy room and realized we were wearing pretty much the same outfit in different colors! Great minds think alike I guess :)
The first couple days back have been pretty good! My kids have actually been fairly well behaved which I was not expecting but am really enjoying. I am really enjoying getting back into the groove of things and catching up with everyone. Break was really relaxing and refreshing for me and I was able to come back excited to be back to teaching and everything that goes with that! We'll see how long this new found energy lasts...a few more nights of grading 3,250 math facts and I might be ready for another break :)
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