the honeymoon is officially over

In teaching, there is the blissful period where children behave as angels: they are polite, considerate and appreciative... that is until the get to know you. Today, the "honeymoon" is officially over. This is a sobering reality for any educator. This means things get much tougher, you have to use your stern voice in order to get the same results you were getting those first joyful, easy-going days.

If I had a dollar for every eye roll, under the breath grunt, and thrown Lego we'd be able to pay off Chris' medical school debt. Seriously, who teaches the eye roll, is it innate or something? You'd think I was asking these kids to perform brain surgery the way they whine and complain. I'm sorry if my Venn diagram really puts you out too much, this is summer school, after all.

Found myself losing my patience many times today. At one point I wanted to throw up my hands in frustration and walk out of the room. These days happen in this occupation. Tomorrow will be better, I hope. If not, I may have to resort to desperate measures. By desperate measures I mean, silent ball all hour.

Vay Cay Please!

Photos courtesy of Something Old Something New

Thinking of taking a vacation here and wearing one of these. A girl can dream, can't she?

Been hard at work...

... on the shower invites for Polly's bridal shower. Each circle was cut using the slice machine I talked about in an earlier post. Forty-three invitations later, I am pleased with how they turned out!

more on the Michael Jackson tribute

Yeah, so they were pretty torn up about it all on Friday. One girl even sported a neon green fingerless glove in honor of MJ.

Good Bye King of Pop, Good Bye Jump Drive

As would be imagined, the death of the King of Pop was a BIG deal today at summer school. We watched Jackson music videos as a reward at the end of core classes and in the sheer excitement of the music and memory of Michael, my jump drive got kicked. Picture it, 20 kids gathered around the computer, arguing about what video would be next. Jump drive hanging dangerously off the computer, a leg moving to the rhythm of "Just Beat It." You know the rest. The drive is not working, even after I snapped it back together. This was bound to happen, but I wish it could have happened on another day when I was not already mourning the loss of a music legend.

So now, I begin the process of recreating two years worth of work that is on that jump drive. Sadness all around.

Superhero Sunday.... because we can.

Super Woman and Super Prego

The Crossing Middle School team (minus the Poppas): Clint as the Jedi, Belinda as Bat Woman, Me as Super/Wonder Woman, Drew as the Cyclops, Devin as Zorro?, Liz as Super Pregnant, and John as the lesser known, Vytor.

Gerber Daisies are Delightful!

Chris and I had a great time. That blue dress was my new GAP steal of a deal ($39). Oh, and the best thing was that it had pockets!!!
Molly, faithful blog reader and great table mate, double fistin' it at dinner.

This wedding was very tied to the orange and pink theme down to the napkins and menu for the evening. Notice the adorable favor boxes filled with kisses that were used to tell guests their assigned table.

What an adorable cake!

The table settings were quite breathtaking.

I loved the bridesmaid dresses and bouquets. Ben and Amy made a lovely bride and groom!

Cute Story

So we decided to build in some team fun time during summer school and on Fridays we have 40 minutes of "team games." We also draw names from coupons our students earned in our classes throughout the week. Today's prize: a Taco Bell coupon for a free bean burrito or taco (hot item). Well one little young man who sleeps every morning on the bleachers before classes begin, won one of the prizes and you would of thought he'd just been named the next American Idol. He put his hands over his mouth and was in such appreciation and shock that he stood there for a moment unable to respond. There were tears in the little guy's eyes when I handed him the coupon. I know kids today can be stinky and entitled, but this moment reminded me of all the kids out there that would be so happy with a coupon for a free taco.

P.S. I am getting hugs at an alarming rate, I have many "Mrs. Jaeger" pictures hanging in my summer school room and I feel like a celebrity walking down the hall on the way to the buses. While these sixth graders might be more immature, they are lovers. I never got that kind of attention once my kids became seventh graders.

just sayin

Have you ever had the misfortune of watching something where the tracking is off an the voices do not match the moving mouths of the characters on screen? This should not be allowed to happen.

Summer School

Started summer school this week. I did not enjoy last year's experience but was optimistic about this year and teaching within my content area. I have incoming 6th graders so only weeks ago, these kids were 5th graders. They are very different than the group I just left that are headed to 8th grade. I took so many things for granted, but with these young ones I have to teach just about everything. Yesterday we had a 10 minute circular discussion about where to indent in a friendly letter. They couldn't believe that they had to think of three people to write to and then write different letters to each person. They complained of hand cramps and that they didn't know what to write. I thought I was a pretty nurturing person, but maybe not after the last couple of days. I really want to say, "tough it out, kid, this is sixth grade." But instead, I kneel down beside them and in my best elementary voice, try to coax them into trying one more time.

Their letters resembled something like this:

Deer Mom,

How are you? I am good. I am writing becaze my summa school teacher says I have too. Right back to me and tell me your faverite memmory about me.

Love,
Summer School Sixth Grader

Deep, I know.

Love it.

Click to enlarge this wonderfully adorable wedding invitation from the site I do it yourself.

Look at what I made, Mom!

Well, and anyone else who is interested. I used the slice to make some cute calendars for our apartment. We are about to enter a "busy" season in our lives with interviews, meetings, and trips. This way we can keep track of where we need to be and where each other will be from day to day. The random brown and blue thing is my mock up shower invite for my friend Polly's bridal shower. I have been waiting for the perfect time to use the slice!

A Quick Update from my professional development conference...

We weren't all work and no play. We explored downtown St. Charles in great depth.

Us with the "famous" Rick DuFour. Robin had a baby crush and from the way Rick was tightly hugging her, it was questionable whether the feelings were mutual; good thing Rick's wife was also speaking at the conference.

Leslye was tried after sleepless nights considering PLCs at Smithton. Craig looks real excited. Perhaps he knows he has an evening of shopping downtown in St. Charles ahead of him with the six women he brought to the conference....

Angie and Holly- enthusiastic about lunch!

Robin and Lynn at lunch. They fed us quite well at conference.

Robin read to us in the morning from the steamy romance novels provided by the Quality Inn library.

I have been away for the last three days at a professional conference. The subject matter: PLCs (professional learning communities). We learned about creating a collaborative and interdependent working environment where we can ensuring that ALL students learn. I have more to say about the conference but I wanted to show you just how much fun we had while in St. Charles, MO.

J.Crew, who do you think you are?

Dear J. Crew,

I'm not sure who you think you are. You charge absurd prices for your fanciful and fun clothes. You make any woman swoon over your great designs. But who can afford you? And even if I could afford you, would I ever feel justified spending over $200 for a t-shirt? I mean, really, some people are starving out there. So, if you could please take this into consideration, I would greatly appreciate it. Until then, I will continue to fake shop on your website, adding items to my shopping cart and then closing the site before time to purchase.

With love and admiration,

Sara

Camille's Wedding

Ceremony site: Me, Sara, Diana, Sarah, Molly, Coley, Sara, Megan, Katherine

Happily married and on their way to Capri!

the programs

A picture of the venue.

The cake, which was the most tasty piece of wedding cake I've ever had!

Diana graciously let us stay with her this weekend. We promised the return favor on the off chance she ever wanted to come to Missouri.

I thought this caputred the beauty of the scene at the wedding site.

Camille, the glowing bride

So my lovely friend, Camille, is an event planner in Austin, TX. Check her out at Camille Style's Events. She was married this weekend in Austin. Krista and I made the trip up there in the car and had a wonderful whirlwind of a three day excursion (2 of which were spent in the car- thank you Krista, I owe you big). Anyway, these are some picture from the beautiful wedding.

Trivia Night = Success

Matt, Carly, Megan, Matt, Polly, and Austin (My wonderful friends came to support the cause)

So the trivia night was a hit. Fun was had by all and everything ran smoothly. Thanks, Lord!

only for a season

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is that teachers have a very unique role. They have a small window of time to leave their mark. As soon as they enter or tidy rooms in August the clock starts running and the seconds tick away. Before we know it, June is here and with it a set of joys and disappointments.

Yesterday was the last day of school and while I’m just as ready as anyone else to hit the pool, do some summer reading and relax; I couldn’t help but feel the moment was a little bittersweet.

These students have been “mine” for two years now. They extra special to me since they were my first students ever and they are all I have to compare to when I reflect upon my teaching experiences. For some I felt as if things were just starting to get good and then summer was upon us, others were the kinds of kids you never want to lose, and then there were the small few that I released a sigh of relief when they walked out my door. I know that some of my students might keep good on their promise “to stay in touch” but the majority have officially moved on and are ready for the next stage of life. Aside from a coincidental sighting at the grocery store, they are gone. I think the finality of it all is settling in.

But isn’t that my job, to love them, care for them, fight for them and in some cases fight with them for only a short season? That’s all we get and then, if we’ve done our job well, they’re ready for the next step.

I can’t help but wonder what will become of this group of students. Will Cameron continue to grow in maturity? Will he still bring book recommendations to his teacher faithfully everyday, or will that be squelched by the demands of honors classes and extracurriculars? Will Kiona continue to love school in spite of her circumstances and extreme difficulty with comprehension? Will anyone know that she doesn’t get to sleep in the same place each night- that in spite of her smile and positive outlook on life, she’s raising herself and her younger brother? What will become of her tenacious and resilient spirit over time?

Will my students remember what we accomplished these last two years? Ten years from now will they think back to their work on the Tap Project and find their own cause for which to fight? Will they value literacy in their own lives and in the lives of their children, thinking back to all our conversations about literacy and power; remembering that books are the first thing to go when a group is oppressed? Will Esther’s mantra, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” ring in their ears and press on their hearts?

I will miss this group of students that is for sure. But I am already thinking about who will be the next group to walk through my classroom door. How will I begin my year, what will I be about? I thank my first class of students for graciously allowing me the freedom to figure out who I am as a teacher and begin the process of finding my teaching stride. They were so forgiving, willing, and able. I am thankful we had this season together. It’s an unending cycle, one in which leaves you always, in the end, letting go.

Ambitions

Here's a peek at some of the books I'm hoping to read this summer!

Skeleton Creek: a Multi-Media Experience

So one of my summer goals is to read a lot. I just finished Skeleton Creek and I can easily see it being a home run with many of my students. This book by Patrick Carman is genius. Carman writes in a diary format but incorporates videos that the reader receives codes to unlock as they read. Its title alone, suggests this book is of the horror genre but Carmen does a nice job of building suspense and unlike most juvenile horror books, (think Goosebumps) this book does not reach resolution. Have no fear, this is only book one in a series!

So follow Ryan and Sara as they unlock the mystery behind the Dredge and Old Joe Bush who seems to be haunting the place. You'll be asking yourself where these kids got so much courage!

The Book Whisperer, "Two Thumbs Up"

Started my summer reading last weekend. I'm almost finished with Skeleton Creek, more on that later but I finished reading Donalyn Miller's book, The Book Whisperer, at the pool on Sunday. I wish I could be a sixth grader in Mrs. Miller's class. She loves reading and sees it as life changing. In her book she discusses the literary classroom she's created. Her philosophy is that kids should be reading and often. In fact, a significant amount of classroom time should be spent in independent books. Donalyn writes that research shows that the average adult only reads 4 books a year and she wonders if we've been killing reading for our students by giving them worksheets and asking them to write post it notes to death. I assume that her ideas would be in line with another book I'm itching to read, Readicide. It gets me excited for a fresh start with new students and a chance to open the world of reading to an aliterate society!