A Prescription for Ick

So from the moment I woke up this morning, I felt physically horrible. I'm not sure if it is from the bug that is going around school, the atmospheric pressure changes from the weather that is rolling in this weekend, or the stress of trimester assessments and upcoming report cards, but I just felt all kinds of "ick" today. Because of all of this, it could have easily been a horrible day... but I am happy to report a few little things that made me smile through the ick.

Little Entrepreneurs with Big Hearts
I have a group of about 5 girls who spend their recesses creating artwork that they then trade for donations they plan to send into American Cancer Society. They call it "Canvasses for Cancer". In the past few weeks they have been talking about creating a website, researching the price of renting a P.O. Box, and designing a logo for t-shirts. Just today they were disappointed when the elementary school library catalog turned up zero results for books on "running your own business". 

I also caught wind of another charitable endeavor. A co-ed group of students from my class are planning to begin a neighborhood dog-walking business. They want to bring their earnings in to contribute to our school's Pennies for Pasta drive, which benefits leukemia research. 

Hug Therapy
The "words of wisdom" during this morning's announcements spoke about recent research on "hug therapy" and how the simple gesture of a hug can help someone prepare heir body and mind for a stressful event. After the message, I joked that maybe I should pass out hugs before our math test later in the day. A few hours later, while preparing to hand out the math test, about six hands shot up in the air. They all wanted hugs. We ended up having a massive group hug before they all headed back to their own desks to quietly complete their tests. The tests have yet to be scored so I can't say if it actually improved their performance... but I'm pretty positive that something more important than bar graphs was picked up today. 

Appreciation of the Arts
"Why oh why did I start this Homework Club?!"  - me, upon waking up with a horrendous headache and realizing that I had promised 22 kids, who turned in ALL of their homework this month that they could join me for lunch in the classroom today.

Any teacher will tell you that lunchtime is basically holy. Yes, we love our kiddos but we definitely need quiet breaks from them throughout the day - ESPECIALLY when we feel like crap. Well, that was out of the question today so I just had to grin and bear it. Last month, I played music and let kids play games during the lunch and it definitely got noisy but there was no way I could handle that today. Thank goodness for Netflix. I found some old Disney Silly Symphony shorts and they LOVED quietly watching those while they ate. I realized in this age of Pokemon and Spongebob that they really aren't accustomed to good old fashioned cartoons. It was great to hear their genuine laughs and many of them even made a connection to a text we had recently read (an unexpected bonus!)

Fourteen hours since first waking up and yes, my head is still pounding despite the various medicines, tons of caffeine, and after-school nap I attempted today. However, I do have to admit that I am pretty lucky to have a class full of such smart, sweet, little personalities that can bring a smile to my face even on the ickiest of days. :)

That being said... bring on the weekend! T.G.I.F.! 

Do Not Open (this Pandora's box) 'Til Xmas!

Our geography lesson today turned to talk of the South and North Poles and before I could steer the conversation elsewhere... the dreaded "s-word" was uttered. No, not THAT "s-word" (although it might have been easier to deal with!), but rather He Who Shall Not Be Named in a room of mixed 8-9 year olds: SANTA.  

As my brain was screaming "No! No! No! I thought I had more time to prepare for this!" I overheard a few "Santa's not real!"s as well as a "Yes he is! I facetimed with him!" (Really?!) Needless to say, I SHUT DOWN the entire conversation as quickly as possible. 

I didn't think it was possible to find a reason NOT to be looking forward to Christmas (and my two weeks off!) this year but BAH HUMBUG! 

T.M.I.??

Ooooookay. That's nice I guess. 

Apparently he likes singing in the restroom. He also likes Asia. The two are not related. He does not sing while in Asia. Silly me to think that! 

Perhaps we will work on compound sentences this week. :) 

Back to School!

Well I did it. I made it through my first few days (four and a half so far) of the school year. Oh and did I mention this is with my very own classroom full of 24 eager (and adorable) 3rd graders?! Needless to say I'm EXHAUSTED so I'll keep this short and sweet. 

Just a few pics from the first day:

Obligatory selfie in front of my board and hand painted letters spelling out my ridiculously difficult last name.

Some first day gifts that made me smile.

A selection of student-created rules for our classroom - seriously, where do they come up with some of these?! :)

So far, so good. Let's hope it stays that way! 

Bigger and Better Things!

You may have noticed that this blog was recently promoted from "My Life in the 2nd Grade" to "My Life in the 3rd Grade". This minor makeover stems from the fact that I will be teaching my VERY OWN class full of third graders in less than a month from now! I am very excited/anxious/overwhelmed to begin this new chapter and anticipate that I will have plenty of giggle-inducing tales coming your way soon! Stay tuned!

One month to go!

Thank You, Firefighters!

After a crazy week of dangerous wildfires in the area, my friend's class of 1st graders had some lovely thank you notes and pictures for the brave local "heroes". 

I love how they could be so heartwarming, yet (unintentionally) hilarious at the same time! 

See what I mean...

Pop Star Appreciation

Let me paint the scene for you...

I'm walking around a 1st grade classroom during their "Fun Friday" free-choice time and come upon two boys drawing pictures. 

These friends have obviously and unbeknownst to themselves, begun a "Battle of the Justins" and my money is (and always will be) on the one who can properly spell.  Sorry (not really) Bibr.