Indoor recess a blessing or a curse

It depends on who you ask. I have never been one to play out in the cold but unfortunately many of the students think they are invincible. Yesterday it was minus 30 with the wind and they still asked to go outside. The answer was no but we did have a dance party. Most of us had a great time. Today we shall dance again. Maybe things will start to warm up.

-Mr.G

Laughing until we cry Learning about ourselves

Friday was such a great day. After a less than stellar day on Thursday with a few students getting into a shoving match and another using putdowns we decided we needed a solid morning or positive interaction.  We talked about putdowns and how they make us feel, how to put down the put-downs and then spent a great chunk of time laughing until we cried playing Fork and Spoon.

Most of the time I think teachers are worried that they are not covering the material fast enough. More time for "classroom" work is needed. I agree that the classroom stuff is very important. I think even more than that though we need to take the time to build friendships, create relationships and make for a better community in the classroom. Once that is established and thriving we can focus on learning more than putting out the fires caused by fighting, teasing, poor sportsmanship and all those other silly draining things.

This week we have student led conferences and report cards. We are going to continue working on time, writing, testing and discussing Quality of Life in Social Studies. We are also going to form new friendships, build stronger the ones we already enjoy and find kids in need and be that person for them. It is going to be a very exciting week!

Stay tuned!

-Mr.G

Rehearsals... a challenge for all

Such a weird week, post Halloween and pre Remembrance day there is a ton going on at the school and still doing a lot of work in the classroom. This week we have talked time and really started to understand the concept. At the start of the week blinking was taking hours and now we know that is called sleeping...  :)

Today we had rehearsals for the Remembrance Day program. First let me say the work that the music teacher and Remembrance Day committee put in to make such a great program is incredible. The gym looks great and the kids musical performances are awesome.

That being said asking 8 and 9 year olds to sit quietly to "practice" for an hour can be a challenge. In our class we have a student who faces some challenges that make just sitting and listening very difficult and they were an absolute star. So was the student that sat beside them and chatted with them through the entire presentation. Answering his questions and just being a friend. I asked this student to watch out for the other as there is a part where they have to move to another door and exit the gym. In the ensuing madness of the exit I was very worried that someone was going to get confused, frustrated or scared with all the people moving and pushing him along. I am a big guy and it was hard for me to not be lost in the shuffle. As panic set in worried about my student I looked up to see a few of my boys and one in particular making a wall to make sure that his friend was not lost, squished or left behind.

I have wondered at what point people start to worry more about themselves than others and I can say today more than ever that I am so grateful for the moments I get to experience and the lessons that I learn from the most fantastic little people that I get to work with. Thanks you parents, thank you students. This is the best job in the world.

Mr.G

Time and other concepts

We have started working on Time in Math and relating activities to the amount of time you might measure them in. It is definitely a work in progress with some feeling like it would be normal to sleep for months at a time and a year of staying in a motel but we did determine that you would not measure running around the track in years. Unless of course it was me and then we might look at hours... haha.

Talking about using our senses to assist in writing what do you think is the first thing kids think of when discussing what we might encounter on a farm?...You got it, manure! Funny to see things through the eyes of 8 year olds.

We had a rather interesting start to a discussion on the rights of children and it is going to be very fun to debate which they think is most important in determining their quality of  life.

Best moment of the day was when one of the kids who is very afraid of all animals conquered his fear just a little and pet Gizmo the class Gecko. Woohoo for small victories!

Mr.G

Did you know Glitter can also be referred to as rain?

First day back after Halloween and we had a great day. Finished the reading assessments, talked time and did some fantastic artwork for the Remembrance Day ceremony. One student and I worked together and as we were doing a great job he decided to take it up a notch we needed to add the always controversial (for custodial staff) GLITTER. So I broke out the glitter and the results were amazing. At one point while we were getting ready for recess he turned to me and said, "Can I cover your head in glitter?" My response was a record fast of course not and as he turned away he said, "Oh, It is going to happen."

We ended the day with friendship keepers which is such a fantastic way to end a day. Many students shared statements of appreciation for things their classmates had done for them. One student thanked another for being the funniest person they knew. Another was thanked for working quietly today. Another was thanked for the awesome tire swing pusher they were. Perfect end to a fun day.

Cheers

Mr.G

Unconditional :)

The last few days have been amazing and I realized the need to start writing down some of the things that are going on in the classroom. As a student I knew that some days would be harder than others. The rewards far outweigh the challenges but there are challenges. Struggling students academically or behaviourally, bad weather, computers not working properly, all these things can really give you a run for your money.  

This year I wanted to try something different. Focus more on the community of my classroom and build out. Extended kindness to each other. That is the hard part for everyone. Unconditional kindness and understanding. We are all in a different position kids included. This week the efforts we have been taking in class have started to show results.  We discussed quality of life in Social Studies and all realized that everyone is in different places and some struggle with a place to live or good food to eat or even a family that loves them and that we can help in those situations. 

A few great things happened this week already that proved we are on the right track. First the Kindergarten "stole" one of our fancy reading chairs (they didn't really steal it but the kids felt that way). They needed it because the chair has a convertible hood that kids can use to just block out everything and read. In my class we have a schedule that is posted. Some kids were really bothered by the fact they were losing their turn because the chair was taken. We had this discussion about needs and explained why the chair was gone and while they did not like that they lost out they immediately saw that the needs of the kindergarten child and how the chair may help them learn better were at a far greater level of importance than their "wants".

Excellent moment 2 came when a student asked if he could spend his daily 5 time reading and visiting with a child with struggles in my classroom. The joy they both shared reading and talking about Sharks was incredible. A student that is happy to isolate themselves and do their own thing was so engaged with this other student it was amazing.

Today a student was upset and unable to express what caused it. When other students noticed this their reaction was not one of mocking or teasing but of genuine concern, unconditional kindness. One said Mr,. Gilson it makes me sad and my eyes water when I see them upset. I will say I might have had my "eyes water" a bit after. 

I love teaching, I am infinitely grateful for the students that I get to work with this year and their parents that have helped to instil this unconditional kindness that will surely help to build a fantastic community of learners this year in Grade 3.

I will try to update more :)

Cheers

Mr.G

So umm there goes September

I am really sorry I have not updated the blog at all yet things have been so busy but I plan to make a renewed effort to get information out about what is happening through the blog. Stay tuned :)