Grateful Friday

 This week I have had playground duty before school.  Basically that means that I hang out with my student this year who is hungry for any attention he can get and a student who I had last year in the same category.  They both hover around me, talking over each other and I look longingly into my classroom where it is quiet and I could be getting things settled for the day.

A rule is no bikes or scooters on the playgrounds before school.

Some children super didn't get the memo. 

My two morning buddies deputized themselves (and they're so socially awkward, I don't think it's a good idea, but try telling them that).  They were zooming around telling kids to walk their bikes and scooters and the kids were ignoring them.

Then I'd call for the kids to stop riding their bikes and scooters.  They'd look put upon, but they'd get off their bikes or scooters.  My two "helpers" came dragging back to me, complaining that the kids wouldn't listen to them, only me.

I said, "Well, I have a loud teacher voice."

My boy said, "OK.  I will chase after them, and then you can use your rude teacher voice to get them to stop."

I said, "Nobody said anything about a rude teacher voice!  I said loud."

He shrugged like they meant the same thing to him.

These kids crack me up all day long and I'm grateful for them.

We are doing a coin drive to raise money to help some of our Bonneville families.  I told my students about it and told them to bring coins if their parents said it was OK.

A boy brought $23.  It was his own money and he said he wanted to help.

I am grateful for the over and over lessons I get to be more childlike.

I am grateful for the beauty of autumn.  I love it so much.

I stopped in my driveway to take a picture before pulling into the garage yesterday.

Those red bushes make my heart sing.

Then I took another picture when Kim and I were walking.  Such a pretty world!

And snow on the mountain is my love language.

I say this every week.  I love being a teacher.  One of my students was struggling with single digit subtraction at the beginning of the year.  It has been a team effort with our WIN time; I have worked with him some and Miriam has worked with him some.  We have used manipulatives and drawn pictures over and over.  Today a switch flipped.  He was working with Miriam and he completed a page with double digit subtraction with regrouping.  He was so proud of himself, he walked across the room to show me.  Three digit subtraction with regrouping is our grade level standard, but he is on his way!  It was exciting and the best part was how proud he was of himself.  When we got back to my classroom, I put a fat sticker on the paper and put it in the pile of papers to be passed out and sent home.