You set up your place in my thoughts, moved in and made my thinking crowded.

It's my last day of my first year of teaching.  All I can think about is how far away this moment as seemed for so long, and now it's actually here.  I woke up this morning with tears in my eyes and, believe me, I'm more surprised than anyone about that.  It's harder -- much harder -- than I thought it would be to say goodbye to these little people who have made me so humbled, happy, frustrated, hoarse, tired, sad and proud for the past year.  As much as you don't want to admit it sometimes, these kids get under your skin, yet somehow, in doing so, make their way all the way into your heart.

They have been in my every thought since August, and I wonder what I'll worry about all summer now that I won't have plans or assessments or behavior management to think about every second of every day.  Maybe I'll be able to read a book without thinking about how I could use it to illustrate cause and effect, or change in setting.  Or maybe I'll still worry about them and whether or not they are reading and who is passing summer school and are they being nice to people and if the helmets are strong enough at football camp.

For today we're cleaning up our classroom, eating ice cream and having a dance party.  As we do that, I wanted to say thank you to Jada, Nicholas, Aja, Winston, Bishesh, Jennifer, Lawrence, Samrawit, Cindy, Marzae, Amina, Xavier, Vanessa, Leul, Zoe, Roxana, Rijan, Karen, Kristopher, Mariah, Armari, Jaslyn and Amaya for letting me be their teacher, and for letting me into their lives.  It's been a privilege to be there.

xo kate

Sometimes I love children.

Just not the ones in my own class, this week.  These kids are pretty funny though.

Kids (first grade) had to finish the common sayings and idioms.

xo kate

Just ace it

We're in full test-taking mode here in teacherland, with the DC-CAS starting throughout the city (and, for the very first time, in second grade) on Tuesday.  Although I just generally hate all things test-prep and test-stress related, my school did throw a really fun pep rally this morning to get the students psyched for Tuesday.  It started with all the students in the lower grades lining the hallways to cheer for the testing students as they ran into the auditorium for the pep rally.  Several of my students exclaimed that it was the greatest moment of their life.  Something you learn pretty quickly as a teacher is that second graders speak, nearly exclusively, in hyperbole.  But it was pretty cute.

At any rate, my school is very into student performances, and there's an unspoken competition between teachers about whose class does that best performances.  Fifth grade generally takes it for content, because they are just so much bigger, but the second grade has been known to pull it out as well.  This time, I learned on Wednesday afternoon that my students would be performing on Friday morning, so the pressure was on.  Given my competitive nature and uncanny ability to rewrite pop songs, I decided that my kids would make a music video.  Unfortunately, I couldn't convince the boys that it was completely awesome to do a synchronized dance on video.

xo kate

It is better to give than to receive.

I am going home and wrapping up an onion for my Dad. Asap.

Smiling is my favorite.

School Portrait (2011) from Michael Berliner on Vimeo.

In the wolfpack: Sophia Grace Brownlee

Not only can Sophia drop beats, but her friend's dance moves and passion are baller.

Tuesday Loseday: My soul-mate is a ginger.

I can't decide if my favorite part is the two-finger-eyeball-watch or when he simply slaps his ass. Either way, homeboy is in the wolfpack.

They try copy my swagger. I'm on the next shit now.

We can plank if we want to. We can leave your friends behind.

This is one of my boyfriends, Teddy.  He is 3.  And a master at planking.  I want to be more like him when I grow up.

A Case of the Tuesdays: Out of the mouths of babes

This has circulated blogs and various tumblrs in the last week, but I just had to repost.

Marriage From A Kid’s Perspective

1. HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHOM TO MARRY? 

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like
sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep
the chips and dip coming.
— Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they’re going to
marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who
you’re stuck with.– Kristen, age 10

2. WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
— Camille, age 10

3. HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at
the same kids.
— Derrick, age 8 

4. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON

Both don’t want any more kids.
– Lori, age 8

5. WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

-Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know
each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
— Lynnette, age 8 

-On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually
gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
— Martin, age 10

6. WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
-When they’re rich.
— Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn’t want to mess with
that.
– - Curt, age 7

-The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry
them and have kids with them. It’s the right thing to do.
– - Howard, age 8

7. IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
It’s better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone
to clean up after them.
— Anita, age 9

8. HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN’T GET MARRIED?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn’t there?
— Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is…

9. HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump
truck.
— Ricky, age 10, way to go Ricky

Via insertcleverplayonwordshere.tumblr 

He's back. To let you know: he can really shake it down.

My love for this child cannot be described.

In vs. Out

This kid is in the wolfpack.



While this gentleman...not so much...

Everything I needed to know I learned in kindergarten.

One of my friends just posted this video on Facebook of kids reacting to the death of Osama Bin Laden.  Many of the views these six-to-fifteen year-olds articulate are more nuanced and balanced than those taking place between adults.  And certainly more reasonable than most of what you hear on the news.  It's refreshing and also sort of sad -- what happens to us when we grow up?



xo kate