Back to School Update

I'm getting really bad at this. I need to try harder! I've had two weeks worth of vacation and two 4 day weeks since I've last written. Today's post will feature highlights since we've returned.

Me: "Y, what do you like better: numbers and math or letters and reading?"
Y: "Well, I would have to say letters and reading."
Me: "Why?"
Y: "Because you need to know how to read to get into college."

I explained that you also need to know math and numbers to get into college, but the moment was still beautiful.

L: "Hey Miss Glass"
Me: "Yes L?"
L: "I missed learning."
Me: "You missed learning L?"
L: "Yeah I love learning and we didn't have school for a long time and I missed learning".

Amazing.

S: "Miss Glass I would like to share about my Somalian family to the class."

Rock on, S. We talked about Somalia and her family for around 12 minutes. The kids were eating it up.

Today R came to school late, without his homework folder, backpack, or books.  He did however have a gun. Obviously a toy gun- a real gun would weigh more than some of my 3 year olds. Nevertheless, DRAMA CENTRAL. In addition, he wet himself. Twice. Cool.

A passed his uppercase and lowercase letters today! J only needs 6 more uppercase letters! H only needs 3 more uppercase letters!

Okay, just a quick update for now. Will post more later!

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

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