Exhaust (from the Spaceship)
I made a little girl cry today. It has been my most difficult day so far (except possibly last Thursday, when I was even more exhausted). I woke up and didn't have enough time for real breakfast, so I had a croissant on the way out the door. School was taxing and the kids weren't even really bad.
I had a strong hunch that two girls cheated on one question on my science diagnostic but I didn't have proof. So I took them aside, one at a time, on the advice of my CMA, holding their tests, and said, "K---, I just want you to know that just because I don't say something every time, I know exactly what goes on in this classroom. Everyone in this class needs to be working hard every day and not taking any shortcuts, and I really hope that you try harder to make sure that is what happens." They both nodded and looked serious.
Later in the day I had to tell 4 girls to pull their cards (switch to green) because they weren't in their seats after I counted down from 10. I had another girl pull her card for talking out of turn and a boy pull his for shouting out an answer. Then a little girl made a face as I put her into a group with an unpopular girl. I pulled her aside for a stern talking to about respect, and then she cried. I told her to take a moment and I walked away, and the next time I looked, she was in her group working. She wouldn't make eye contact with me, though. But at the end of the day, she waved goodbye and I smiled at her, so I think we're okay and hopefully she was upset because she realized that she wasn't showing respect?
I have lots of work to do to tighten up my lesson for tomorrow because I didn't think my lesson worked really well today. But I got a hermit crab at the pet store and another little girl is bringing in her pet turtle.
We had Insitute Learning Teams (I had 3rd/4th grade team) today and while it was great information, another person described it as a firehose on a teacup, and I agree. I'm just a little overloaded right now. Deep breath. Sleep. Right...
I had a strong hunch that two girls cheated on one question on my science diagnostic but I didn't have proof. So I took them aside, one at a time, on the advice of my CMA, holding their tests, and said, "K---, I just want you to know that just because I don't say something every time, I know exactly what goes on in this classroom. Everyone in this class needs to be working hard every day and not taking any shortcuts, and I really hope that you try harder to make sure that is what happens." They both nodded and looked serious.
Later in the day I had to tell 4 girls to pull their cards (switch to green) because they weren't in their seats after I counted down from 10. I had another girl pull her card for talking out of turn and a boy pull his for shouting out an answer. Then a little girl made a face as I put her into a group with an unpopular girl. I pulled her aside for a stern talking to about respect, and then she cried. I told her to take a moment and I walked away, and the next time I looked, she was in her group working. She wouldn't make eye contact with me, though. But at the end of the day, she waved goodbye and I smiled at her, so I think we're okay and hopefully she was upset because she realized that she wasn't showing respect?
I have lots of work to do to tighten up my lesson for tomorrow because I didn't think my lesson worked really well today. But I got a hermit crab at the pet store and another little girl is bringing in her pet turtle.
We had Insitute Learning Teams (I had 3rd/4th grade team) today and while it was great information, another person described it as a firehose on a teacup, and I agree. I'm just a little overloaded right now. Deep breath. Sleep. Right...
posted by Jessica at 10:37 PM
1 Comments:
Jess,
1st days are always hardest with discipline. They are testing to see if you mean what you say and say what you mean. How much can they get away with? Be consistent and remember what is important to you that they do or don't do. Relax and enjoy them. :)
Merry
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