Back to Mexico

So it's been about a month.  My deepest apologies.  I promised I wouldn't start a blog and not keep up with it, so my recent lack of writing must be do to one of the following.  I've either quit teaching and moved back to CT, or I've been too busy growing the brains of my preschoolers.

While of course I don't have favorite students, if I did have a favorite student, he would have passed his uppercase letters today! The total countdown now:

Learning Uppercase Letters: 9 friends
Learned Uppercase, Learning Lowercase Letters: 3 friends
Learned Uppercase and Lowercase, Learning 10 sight words: 6 friends
Learned Uppercase, Lowercase, and 10 sight words, Learning 20 sight words: 1 friend


My kids are so smart. On a sadder note, you may have realized that the numbers on my list only add up to 19 friends, and not 20.  That is because one of my beautiful big kids moved back to Mexico on Friday, so he is no longer a member of our class.  Bummer.

Funniest Part of My Day:
Y: "Miss Glass, how come sometimes you're skinny and sometimes your fat?"
Me: "What Y?"
Y: "You know, like some shirts you wear you look skinny and some you look fat?"


Grossest Part of My Day:
I just had a meeting with one of my Headstart bosses, and she was going to make copies of something and bring it into my classroom.  So she comes in and starts observing.
Boss: "Which student is P?  I was talking to his push in special ed teacher about his language development."
Me: "Oh yeah, I've been so excited about his growth.  He's forming complete sentences and actually telling me stories about his life."
Boss: "Well let's listen to him for a minute".
P: "H. H, look at me. I'm farting. See me? I'm farting H!"


Best Part of My Day:
Me: "Friends why do we have to be silent when we're in the hallway?"
A: "Because friends are learning."
Me: "Yeah, you're right. Friends in other classes are learning. If we are talking they can't learn.  Why do we want them to learn?"
L: "SO THEY CAN GO TO COLLEGE."

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

Use Your Words

For about a month now, we've had our packing up procedure pretty down to a T. When I call your name, you 1. come get your homework folder, 2. walk to the closet, 3. put it in your backpack, 4. get your green bag (my library system which let's the kids bring home a new book each night), and 5. come back to the carpet to switch books.

So let me set the scene: R is absolutely exhausted. He clearly didn't sleep last night, and during our 40 minute nap time he went to the bathroom 4 times (and I mean actually went- like I listened outside the door).

I call R's name, and like a good boy he comes to get to get his homework folder and walks into the closet. When he comes out of the closet, still holding his homework folder, I'm confused. He says, "I don't got my homework folder". I encourage him, "R, try again. Think about your words". He responds, with his eyes half closed and mumbling due to an obvious lack of sleep, "Miss Glass Ion't got mah homework folder". So then I gave up. "R, look down at your hand. Now go back into the closet and be a problem solver".

R comes back to the carpet empty handed and once more says, "Miss Glass, sorry but I don't got my homework folder". Clearly he's trying to tell me that he forgot his green bag, but I'm trying to get my kids to solve their own problems, so I just sit and wait for a minute. This is the best part.

L stands up, says "R, come here". She puts her arm around him. "Let's go back to the closet and try again". She walks him to his cubby as I listen to her say, "R, what should you bring to the carpet?" He says, "My green bag, but I don't got it." She looks at him and says in her most motherly voice (as motherly as a 4-year-old gets) "Well that's okay, you have to go tell Miss Glass". As they're walking out of the closet she says, "Come on, R. Use your words. What do you need to tell Miss Glass?" R stands up and says "Miss Glass I forgot my green bag".

"Oh that's okay R, you can switch books tomorrow. Come have a seat on the carpet". Just proves that kids learn better from their peers.


2 friends passed their lowercase letters today and 1 passed her uppercase letters so the count is this:

13 - Learning their uppercase letters
2 - Passed uppercase letters, learning lowercase
5 - Passed uppercase and lowercase letters, learning first 10 sight words

M wet herself today. Rough, and wet. The nurse was out and the only change of clothes that I had was a pair of shorts and a sweater. How silly.

I ended my day running to the fridge and pounding some drinks. I'm a preschool teacher so they were apple juice, but let me tell you the sugar rush I got was totally worth it.

7 Minutes in Heaven

There was a period of 7 minutes today when I stood in the center of my classroom and looked around silently. The following describes what I saw.

The Art Center: 

     M is drawing a picture of a jack-o-lantern on a grass field with a sun in the sky and a heart in the air. L says to M, "Hey that's beautiful. Can you write my name on it and give it to me?" M says "Well I do not know how to write your name, but you can help me. Can you tell me what letters to write?" L spells her name correctly for M. M writes the letters perfectly.  The picture is now hanging in our science center.

Dramatic Play Center:

     No one is in dramatic play.  For those non-preschool teachers, this is the center with the play kitchen, phone, costumes, and 'toys'.  Generally this is a 'free play' center in which kids are encouraged to explore life around them and play like children too.  Considering 3 weeks ago this center was full and my friends were fighting to get into it, I am thrilled that my students are choosing learning over play.

Math Center:

     E is pointing out our number of the day to H on the new whiteboard addition of our morning meeting. "H, this is the number 9.  Look there are 9 dots, see '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.  H, see that word? It has 4 letters. See n, i, n, e. There are 4 letters but it says nine because that's the number 9."

Writing Center:

     A is looking for all of the uppercase letter magnets in the writing center.  She says, "I need a letter R".  Oh no, I'm thinking. We only have one magnet uppercase R and it's on R's magnet board. Here we go, drama is about to ensue.  But, before I can run and hide behind my desk because R is not sharing, he speaks up and says, "I gotta R right here! You can use it!"

Library:

     M is teaching B his uppercase letters. D is flipping through the pages in a Halloween book.

Science Center:

     Y and A are counting the apples that we have on our tree. We earn an apple on our tree for whole-class good behavior. When we get to 10 we get a reward.  I put 10 push-pins on the tree even if we don't have 10 so the kids can count how many we have left until we get to 10.  Y counts to 7 and says "We have 7". A says "We only need 3 more until we go outside!"

After this I got the usual whine city of "blah-blah-blah won't share with me". "Miss Glass I want to go to writing but it's full". Nevertheless, for a solid 7 minutes, my preschoolers were angels.  Tomorrow, I bet we can make it 8.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,

Miss Glass

Dreams Really Do Come True

In Connecticut there is a proposed law to make Halloween the Saturday before the 31st each year.  Apparently, having Halloween on a school night throws the kids off.  Yet despite the lack of sleep, exorbitant amount of sugar, forgotten coats (gloves, scarves, and hats), and all around partying that my big kids were exposed to Monday night, they still came to school.  No doubt- they were exhausted, insane, and defiant- but at least they were there.  I won't lie- yesterday was rough. I had one of those days where I was convinced my kids were too incapable, too unmotivated, too young.  One of those days where I was convinced that I was too incapable, too inexperienced, too young.  I left school early- around 5:30. I called my mom- she had school off from Monday through Friday due to the storms in CT.  I went home and made chicken stir fry- only to hear how my roomates' school was lit on fire by a student that day.  Then I went to bed.

I had a dream where I introduced a number of the day in our morning meeting.  On a whiteboard, a student would come up and write the numeral, draw that many dots, write the word for that number, and draw that many tally marks.  In my dream, my kids were engaged.  I woke up before my alarm went off, got ready early, and although I was convinced that I was still asleep, I went to school to make this magic whiteboard.

It worked. My kids loved it so much they asked me if we could change the number during our afternoon meeting so we could learn more.

That wasn't even the best part of my day.  Today we compared what seeds need to grow and what people need to grow.  We made two graphic organizers.  When I asked my friends what seeds need to grow they shouted "sun", "air", and "water" - we've been reading stories about seeds all week.  When I asked my friends what people need to grow they all shouted "to learn" "to go to college" "to work hard" and "to get smart".  Maybe it was wrong that my students couldn't get to the responses I wanted them to say - "food", "water", and "air", but at the time I could just smile and add it to my list.

In library center I heard my kids yelling- but I couldn't make out what they were yelling about.  I went over to tell them to keep their voices down, and when I got there, M (who just passed her uppercase letters on Monday!), was quizzing 3 other friends on their letters.  The yelling I heard was them guessing which letter it was.

I love my kids.  My kids love me.  Most importantly, my kids really love learning.  Today was a good day.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

More Exhausted, More Cold, More Experienced

Sorry for the lack of communication, I've been busy raising 20 children.  That's right, my class is now complete (Headstart enforces a maximum of 20 students per classroom rule). Though I need to make this brief because I have a busy day of Parent-Teacher Conferences, I wanted to let everyone know that I'm alive and well. A little more exhausted, a little more cold, but a little more experienced.  Over the past 16 days a lot has happened.  Let's debrief.

- 4 of my friends have mastered their uppercase letters! All of my big kids got a binder ring with the 26 uppercase letters letters on it like flash cards.  Once they learn all of the uppercase letters, they get the 26 lowercase letters.  Once they learn the lowercase letters, they get the 10 most frequently used words in the English language (sight words).  Once they learn the first 10 words, they get the second 10.  Then the third 10.  Then the fourth 10.  Then the fifth 10!  You get the picture.  My big goal for my classroom this year, is for all of my friends to be able to identify all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters, and be able to read 50 sight words.  Ambitious, I know.  But 4 of my friends have already learned their uppercase and I just gave them their letters October 18 (aka less than a week ago)!

- One of my new friends, C turned 3 July 17th.  He comes into school the first day at 8:30. After breakfast, at approximately 9:20, he says "Okay thank you, you can take me home now."  Kid's got a lot to learn.

- My most recent new friend, M, turned 3 July 23rd.  She doesn't speak any English, and yesterday she stands up during circle time and starts dancing around.  Foolishly, I ask "M, do you have to go to the bathroom?" She looks at me, nods her head, and in front of the whole class pulls down her pants and underwear.  Like I always do when I'm shocked, I started rambling. "No, M, we need to go to the bathroom. You cannot go to the bathroom here, this is where we learn during circle time. The bathroom is this way.  You need to wait and pull down your pants when you get into the bathroom. Blah, blah, blah." Girl's lost. So, while she's standing there in the nude, I grab her hand and pull her into the bathroom in my classroom.  I hear Y from the carpet, "Ewww gross. Wait, Miss Glass, that's gross, right?

- R's mom was an hour and a half late picking him up.  She called after 10 minutes and said she had a flat tire. It was the best 90 minutes I've ever had with him.  His behavior was incredible (I mean, 1 on 1 with the teacher, whose wouldn't be?), we practiced his letters (which he's actually learning- Z is zee, not zipper), read stories (where he predicted the ending based on a picture-walk), and just talked.  When his mom came to pick him up, he said "No, I'm not ready to go, I want to stay with Miss Glass". He eventually left when I told him they were going to lock the doors soon, and when I got home I spent a good 2 hours debating adoption.

- Today, as she often does, M stood up in the center of circle time and shouted, "Friends, do you like my poncho?" Though impressed with her knowledge of the word poncho, I gave her a warning and told her to sit on her letter.  Y, responded with "Hey, Miss Glass! Poncho sounds like pumpkin! It starts with a P?" My kids are the smartest preschoolers in the world.

Alright, it's time for this big kid to go to bed.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,

Miss Glass

Happy Mother's Day

Mondays are the hardest day of the week. Like clockwork, every Monday my students have suddenly forgotten how to hold a pencil, stand in a line, and walk in the hall.  Most of them are exhausted from not getting enough sleep over the weekend.  Some haven't listened or spoken to English all weekend and need to readjust to the culture shock.  Despite all of that, I couldn't have asked for a better Monday.


For: Ms. Glass and Ms. Brooks
From: T, L
Dear Ms. Glass,
You are a nice teacher because you teach me things and we get to have fun.  It is so great to have you and Ms. Brooks as a teacher.  Love, T and L. There is some more words in the back.

Are you really coming to our house?

Please Circle

Yes     No

L been saying she love you because you are nice. My moms phone number is (***) ***-*****. If she have any trouble you could call my mom.
Written by my student's sister, the above note was given to me on loose-leaf notebook paper (upside down), and decorated with flowers and pictures that say "Happy Mother's Day."

We got a new friend today in school.  W is the 18th big kid in our garden! When W's mom and dad came to pick him up, he shouted "Mom I have so much homework and if I finish it all tonight I can get extra homework tomorrow! Can I come back here tomorrow?"

At the end of the day, Y approached me. "Miss Glass I changed my mind, I do like school."

And R didn't wet himself during nap time!

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

Half-Bones-Man

There's nothing like comforting a child who can't sleep. I had a huge mommy moment today.

Scene: All of my big kids are asleep on their mats, and it's just 20 minutes into nap time.  (Purposeful Planning at it's finest- we did an extra dance this morning)  I'm sneaking over to the water fountain in my classroom to get a drink of water when M sits straight up and stares me in the eyes.  I felt like I'd been caught stealing from the cookie jar.

M: "Miss Glass I can't sleep".
Me: "It's okay M, you can close your eyes and listen to the music".
M: "Well I will have a bad dream if I fall asleep".
Me: "Why would you have a bad dream? Are you scared of something?"
M: "I have bad dreams all the time when I sleep."
Me: "Oh I'm sorry M what do you have bad dreams about?"
M: "Ghosts."
Me: "Well M, you know ghosts aren't real so there are no ghosts in our classroom.  And I'll be here when you wake up."
M: "Well I'm also scared of half-bones-man."
Me: "Who is half-bones-man?"
M: "Well he's a man with a skull and he's got half-bones."
Me: "Is it like a skeleton?"
M: "Yeah and he's scary."
Me: "Well, M, we all have bones inside of us. Feel my arm.  Do you feel that it's hard? There are bones in my body. Bones aren't scary because we all have bones."
M: "Well can I feel your belly?"
Me: "Yes, you can feel my belly."
M: "Well your belly is squishy."
Me: "Yeah you're right M, my belly is squishy."
M: "Why is it squishy?"
Me: "Well we don't have bones in our belly. That's where our food goes after we eat it."
M: "Well can you sleep next to me so I can rub your squishy belly?"

You'd think I'd be offended, but the honesty my kids provide regularly is actually refreshing. Realistically, bellies are squishy, and today I helped a 4-year-old fall asleep.  It was a good day.

Best Moment of the Day:
L: "Miss Glass, can we get our own notebooks where we write in our math?"
Me: "L I think that's a great idea. You will get math notebooks tomorrow."
L: "I love you Miss Glass!"


Funniest Moment of the Day:
Y: "Miss Glass will you read Chrysanthemum to me?"
Me: "Y, you start reading the pictures in the library and when I'm done with B I will meet you in the library and finish re-
E: (cutting me off of my sentence) "Miss Glass I love cookies."


Grossest Moment of the Day:
My friend R woke up completely wet again. I need to invest in some pull-ups for this poor kid. And some latex gloves for me.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

Easter Came Early

We're in the middle of lunch.  It was lasagna day, so the typical 'take one and pass it' approach would have been a hot mess.  I spoon out a piece of the meaty, cheesy lasagna to put on E's tray as he looks up at me, wide eyed and bushy haired. "You know, Miss Glass Jesus died. Then he was born again. Can you open my milk?"

Best Moment of the Day:

A's mom: "A loves your homework packets Miss Glass.  He comes home and before I can even ask him if he wants a snack he's begging me to help him with his homework."

Funniest Moment of the Day:
Me: "L, this is your last chance. If you do not leave these papers at home, then I will keep them forever."
M: "Miss Glass what will you do with them?"
Me: "I will put them on my refrigerator. That's what happens when you don't bring your work home to your families.  Miss Glass keeps all your work and put's it on her refrigerator."
M: "Oh no! Don't do that! Then it will be frozen forever!"

Grossest Moment of the Day:
R: "This tastes better when I eat it with my hands."

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

PS. Everyone check out my sister's tales of a manhattan-ite blog ithrewstones.tumblr.com

Or maybe they do just have attitude...

Walking into my classroom you'd think my kids have attitude problems. Their perceived sarcasm however, is really just attributed to the creativity and imagination of 3 and 4 year olds. Maybe because it was the last day of the school week, or maybe because I was feeling a little silly myself, but regardless, on Friday my kids were extra imaginative.

Me:  "Friends, put a bubble in your mouth." (To those out of the teaching world, this is a cue for students to not speak. If you have a bubble in your mouth, how can you talk?)
M:  "Well Miss Glass, I'm sorry but I just can't find my bubble."
Me:  "M, that's too bad, you really need to find your bubble quickly, we're about to read a story."
M:  "Well Miss Glass, by accident I threw my bubble away in the trash."
Me:  "Well M, maybe you can borrow a bubble from one of your friends while we're reading?"
M:  "But Miss Glass, how can I borrow a bubble from a friend if they all have their bubbles in their mouths?"
Me:  "Okay M, I keep an extra bubble in my pocket for times like these, you can borrow this one. (As I give her an empty hand.)
M:  "Oh thanks Miss Glass!" (Puts an imaginary bubble in her mouth and remains silent for a significant amount of time.)

Thus, problem solved.

Me:  "Friends, I love your quiet feet walking in the hall right now!"
E:  "Thanks Miss Glass! I had my mom put on my quiet shoes this morning!"

He was dead serious.

Best moment of the week:
L: "Miss Glass, we forgot to do our learning cheer! Can we do it when we get back to the classroom! I need to grow up and up and up!"

Funniest moment of the week:
A: "Miss Glass, this is my robot. Her name is Big Sister Robot.  She has a baby sister who cries all the time, and Big Sister Robot doesn't listen because she's too busy singing her robot songs."

Grossest moment of the week:
There were three accidents during nap time this week. 'Nuff said.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

Thank you Nickelodeon

This is going to be short. Not only because Zumba kicked my ass, but because it's button week and I need to save my fine motor skills.

Today I was giving the diagnostic preschool test to one of my English Language Learners.  The test is basically to find out where the child is developmentally.  Point to your nose.  Can you jump? Hop 3 times. Etc.  In the afternoon, I administered the exam to H, my student who only speaks Arabic.

When I asked H what color the block was, he responded "blueberry".  Okay, I thought, I'll give it to him.  We just had our berry exploration and he's probably remembering that blueberries are blue.  Then I asked him what color the yellow block was.  I couldn't describe the look on his face, but it was somewhere between confident and excited, as he shouted "sunshine".  His dad told told me last week during a home visit that H has been learning English from watching Nickelodeon.  This is what happens when kids learn English from a TV show. I love my life.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

Best Moment of the Day:
A and Y: Miss Glass, Miss Glass look what we found!
Me: What did you find friends?
A and Y: There are buttons on this puzzle! Under this number there are buttons!

Funniest Moment of the Day:
M: "E, you be the baby when we're playing and I'll be the mommy."
E:  "Well I'm not a baby. Babies are at home. I'm E (first name) S (last name)! 

Grossest Moment of the Day:
Me: P take that marker out of your pants. Do we put markers down our pants? No. Markers stay out of our pants.

A Sense of Urgency

Dear Friends,

     Today is Friday, September 23, 2011. The weather today is sunny. I predict the weather tomorrow will be sunny.  The color today is pink. The shape today is an octagon. The letter of the week is a Bb. This is a big B. This is a little b.  Some words that begin with B are boot, bean, baby, brain, and bug.

                                                            Love, Miss Glass

In preschool you have to be spontaneous.  You never know what could happen at any given moment.  Sometimes after breakfast I'll take my big kids to the bathroom and everyone will complain that they 'don't gotta use it'. Sometimes, big kids will beg me for a bathroom trip.  I explain the sense of urgency to my friends by saying "big kids use the bathroom quickly and quietly. Who can show me they can use the bathroom like a big kid?" I send 3 into the boys and 3 into the girls- there are 3 stalls in each. With a classroom of 17 friends, this process usually takes around 8 minutes.

One of my friends P, has a tendency to play in the bathroom.  On Friday, after he'd been in the bathroom for a solid 3 minutes, I shout in "P, quickly and quietly!"  Just as my principal is walking by, in the loudest voice I've ever heard P use, he exclaims, "I'M POOPING!" Legitimate.

Well, I could take the other 16 friends back to the classroom while my teaching assistant stays with our bound big kid, but she's on her break. The bathroom we chose to use was right next to the stairs leading up to the cafeteria, and the lunch rush was coming any minute. We're trapped. I got sixteen 4-year-old's squirming in the hallway, and one squirting in the bathroom and I don't know what to do. I'm trying to bridge the achievement gap, and shit's getting in my way. Literally.

"Alright friends sit down on the blue line."  After we got through the ABC's, counting to 50, identifying all of the colors that we were wearing, clapping the syllables in all of our names, and singing the days of the week song, I decide to check in with P.  "How you doing, P?" "I'M WIPING MY BUTT." Really? I asked how you're doing not what you're doing. Cool.  At least my principal wasn't walking by- this time it was the very attractive, very young, and very single, Family Advocate working at my school. I gave him one of those looks- the 'yes this is what I do everyday and I love it' one.

Best Moment(s) of the Day:

Push in Special-Ed Teacher: "Good Afternoon Favorite Class! Miss Glass, I love coming into your room. The culture you have is so supportive and loving."

Me: "Oh, I'm sorry H, block center is full. Take your ticket and choose a new center." (H takes his ticket and slumps away to a new center)

D: "No H, I will leave blocks so you can play here!"

Funniest Moment of the Day:

Me: (reading Where the Wild Things Are, in a circle next to all of my friends) "That night, in Max's room a forest grew".

M: (stands up, walks over to me, and hugs me) "I love you Miss Glass."

Me: "Thank you Maya, but what did we talk about when you want to hug someone."

M: "Well, I know that I'm supposed to ask but I knew you'd say no because you're reading but I just really wanted a hug."

Grossest Moment of the Day:

J: "Ooooooo, Miss Glass look!"

Me: "What did you make J?"

J:"No look at my tissue. The buggers are green!"

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,

Miss Glass

Your Vision Doesn't Align with My Vision

Dear Friends,

     Today is Monday, September 19, 2011. The weather today is cloudy. I predict the weather tomorrow will be sunny.  The color today is green. The shape today is a diamond. The letter of the week is a Bb. This is a big B. This is a little b. Some words that begin with B are bear, baby, bumble bee, butterfly, and box.

                                                            Love, Miss Glass

It's incredible how throwing off the routine of a 3-year-old ruins an entire day. "Friends, today we are going on a special visit.  We are going to visit a lady who will look in our eyes to make sure that we can see well." I prepared them all day long. "After recess, instead of walking to our classroom to brush our teeth, we are going to go to a special room.  When we walk in, we will sit criss-cross applesauce, keep a bubble in our mouths, and you will show me your brain. Is it scary?" "NO." They were prepared. They knew what was coming- until the vision screening people didn't show up. First problem.  You tell a 3-year-old they're going on a special trip and they expect to go.

"Okay friends, it looks like our special lady is not here yet. Let's go back to the classroom." This was followed by chaos. The kids were lost, but I knew I could recover. So we walked back to the classroom (8 minutes behind schedule), and brushed our teeth.  We had a new friend join the classroom today. "A DOESN'T HAVE A TOOTHBRUSH. HOW CAN WE BRUSH OUR TEETH WHEN A DOESN'T HAVE A TOOTHBRUSH. WHAT DO WE DO?" As if this one child missing a toothbrush suddenly made everyone else's toothbrushes disappear. "Friends, it's okay, I have a toothbrush for A." Problem Solved.

After re-teaching how we brush our teeth (now 15 minutes behind schedule) and then actually brushing them, we sit down to read a story, and then get ready for nap time.  It's okay, they won't even notice they missed 15 minutes of nap time, it will be better, maybe now they won't be smack dab in the middle of REM sleep when it's time to wake up.

And then it happens. I get a call just as my last friend falls asleep. "Hello Miss Glass it's J from Kansas City Vision Whatever. We're all set up and ready for you to come down." Really? Obviously. Alright, it's okay let's get this over with. I play the Raffi tape I usually wake my friends up with, Rise and Shine, and wake up a room full tired, cranky and confused 3 and 4 year olds.  I can't even describe the chaos in the room at this point.  I was called 'Mommy' at least 6 times in 5 minutes (compared to my usual 5 times a day), 4 of my 17 big kids were hysterically crying, one friend wet himself while he was sleeping, 2 big kids were in an apparent coma (to the point where they were literally sleeping standing up), and my teaching assistant decides this would be a good time to take her break.

30 minutes later, we got through it with no broken bones, and just a couple soggy eyes.  Nothing a little Latin Dance can't fix.  Today, I made the good choice of staying for two Zumba classes.

Best Moment of the Day:

P: (special needs child who rarely talks) "Hey Glass, (holds up a banana) like a monkey!"

Funniest Moment of the Day:

Me: "Friends, raise your hand if you can tell me your favorite part of the story we just read."

M: "Well my favorite part was you reading it, because I just love hearing you talk Miss Glass."

Grossest Moment of the Day:

Me: "E you need to take smaller bites, that's too much food in your mouth".

E: (spits it into my lap) "There, Miss Glass now there's nothing in my mouth."

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,

Miss Glass

Kleenex and the Bible

One of my big kids asked me if my dad was God the other day. I took it as a compliment. Right now, to my big kids, I'm Jesus.  Cool, I could do Jesus, but I bet he didn't wipe as many noses as I do.  It's unbelievable.  My mentor said it would be a good idea for each student to have a personal tissue box in their cubby.  At the time I remember thinking that my class wouldn't go through 20 tissue boxes the whole year, what a waste of tissues. I don't kill the environment, absolutely not.  We went through 5 last week. I'm going to start taking her advice.

Best Moment of the Week:

Me: "I'll see you on Monday friends!"

L: "Miss Glass there's no school tomorrow?"

Me: "No, friends tomorrow is the weekend. We don't have school tomorrow, or the next day.  But I will see you on Monday!"

Whole Class: "Awwwww"

Funniest Moment of the Week:

M: "My baby sister is here! Friends want to touch my baby sister?"

Grossest Moment of the Week:

5 tissue boxes. Nuff said.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,

Miss Glass

Walking Art Project

Dear Friends,

     Today is Tuesday, September 13, 2011. The weather today is sunny. I predict the weather tomorrow will be sunny.  The color today is gold. The shape today is a square. The letter of the week is an Ee. This is a big E. This is a little e. Some words that begin with E are eagle, empty, exit, eggplant, and elephant.

                                                            Love, Miss Glass

Walking into the gym today I was stopped by the owner.  He told me I should check a mirror before working out.  Ouch. Not something you want to hear walking into a gym. I mean I would have joined months ago but I was a little busy learning how to close the achievement gap.  A little more self-conscious than I was 5 minutes earlier in the car, jamming to Jonie Mitchell's A Case of You, I looked in a mirror.

My hair was tied in a knot on top of my head. Pretty standard.  Decorating the bun was a fine tip black crayola washable marker, a clothespin (with R's name on it), and a paintbrush. There were remnants of blue painted fingerprints circling my eyes (habit of rubbing my temples when I'm stressed).  I was wearing a green stopwatch around my neck (my clock necklace).  My once black top had become multicolored from glitter (the herpes of arts and crafts).  I thought I looked pretty good.

Best moment of the day:
Me: "Goodnight Y. I love you. I will see you when you wake up."

Y: "Hey, Miss Glass?"

Me: "Yes, Y?"

Y: "I want to be a teacher when I grow up."

Funniest moment of the day:

*O received a band-aid yesterday because he bumped his leg. There was no cut.

O: looks at me terrified, his band-aid is slowly falling off
Me: "Oh, I'm sorry O. Sometimes band-aids come off. Life is hard."

O: as the band-aid falls off he walks away limping. a group of big kids walk up to him and let him lean on their shoulders.

Grossest moment of the day:
S: "Miss Glass I just woke up from my nap and there's spit all over my mouth and my mat but I have no idea how it got there!"

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

The Benjamin Button Experience

Dear Friends,

     Today is Monday, September 12, 2011. The weather today is sunny. I predict the weather tomorrow will be rainy.  The color today is silver. The shape today is a crescent. The letter of the week is an Ee. This is a big E. This is a little e. Some words that begin with E are elephant, elf, egg, escalator, and eraser.

                                                            Love, Miss Glass

Though I thought entering the real world post-college would mature me, I'm having second thoughts. After rolling around on the floor begging my roommates to get a dog I found myself actually saying d-d-dog.  Every time I refer to one of my preschoolers, I start with, "I was talking to my friend so-and-so".  Before I open anything with a seal, I find myself chanting "Try your best! You can do it!" The toilet is called the potty, my favorite book is Chrysanthemum, and I count down the minutes until recess.

I started a blog because I'm pretty convinced that by the end of the school year I will be a 4-year-old, and I needed to document the evidence along the way.  Some of the stories are scary.  There's a lot of crying involved, a roomful of runny noses, and even some poop experiences.  But despite all the gore, I get to be greeted by the smartest, most rambunctious, big kids five days a week.

Best moment of the day:
D: "Miss Glass, R is my friend."
Me: "D, that's nice. Thank you."
D: "Yeah, we love each other no matter what."

Funniest moment of the day:
M: "ARRRRRRR, Miss Glass, ARRRRRRR!"
Me: "What's wrong?"
M: "Well, I'm just being a pirate, duh."

Grossest moment of the day:
M: "Miss Glass I'm sorry I pooped my pants."

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass