These are the days

These are the days of wild temperature swings.  It was in the low 60s for a few days and then yesterday was freezing.  I had recess duty and I told them to bring their coats (it was 90 minutes since they came to school and complained about how cold they were, long enough that they needed to be reminded it was cold).  One boy insisted he wouldn't be cold and I insisted he would and he finally grumbled, "Fine, I'll take a sweater."

He grabbed his hoodie.

Once outside, the kids all told me it was SO cold.  It was.  They told me 2nd grade had gone inside.  I checked my phone.  14 degrees with the wind chill.

I blew my whistle.  Inside recess.

These are the days of wild mood swings.  I was telling Jamie during art how great one of my students had been--very willing to work.  Then a girl came and told me the substitute in art needed me.

This same student was having a complete come apart.  Banging things and yelling.  He swung at me, but I dodged it.  (Am I an athlete? No.) I got him to leave the room with me. We went to my room and he threw a chair then he went to a corner and kind of settled himself down and I talked to him in soothing tones.  

Sometimes that is all I've got.

These are the days of heartbreaking news.  One of Miriam's students is a pawn in a custody battle.  She came to my room and asked if there was anything she could do.  I said, "We want to drive over there and take the student ourselves, but we can't.  There's nothing we can do."

It is so sad.

Speaking of futility....These are the days of trying to figure out how to help ease Adam's burden.  I think work is the biggest thing right now and I've got nothing.  I can make sure the kitchen is clean when he gets home?

These are the days of trying to communicate.  My new student is struggling.  I'm struggling.  Google translate is inadequate.  We were doing grammar and one of my ML students was arguing with another one over whether or not the past tense of go was goed or went.  I said it was went and the native English speaker laughed a little and the ML got tears in his big brown eyes and I told him to say the sentence in Spanish.  I said, "There's no way I can do that.  You're amazing!"

Another ML was writing about her favorite sport.  She is so whip smart and great at English because she is constantly asking clarifying questions.  She said, "What is that thing when you are playing soccer and you try to get it in there to score.  What is that called?"

I said, "Goal?"

She said, "Really?  In English?"

Hurray for words that mean the same thing in both languages!

These are the days of poetry.  We are reading poetry for literacy this week and I love it.  Judith Viorst!  Shel Silverstein!  Robert Louise Stevenson! Christina Rossetti!  (None of those were in the curriculum, I just brought a bunch of stuff to add.  Also some of my favorite picture books are poems, so I had a happy read aloud bonanza.)

These are the days.