week quattuordecim (week 14)

            Monday was our field trip to the children’s farm. It was a great field trip for the kids because they got to see all of the little baby animals and learn about them. Part of the reason we had such a good time was because we had a really good guide. Some of the guides weren’t very good so their groups didn’t get as much out of the trip. The kids not only got to learn about the animals but pet and hold them which is something these kids don’t always get to do. On the trip we had a couple chaperones tell us that they had brought their kids their before so they were not only familiar with the farms but the animals, how to hold them, how to pet them, and very responsible. On the other hand some kids had never even seen some animals before so it was a great opportunity for those kids. The weather was a little bad. It was good enough were we could still go and have a good time and not get wet, but this is Illinois so the wind of course picked up and it was too windy to eat there so we went back instead and ate in the cafeteria for an extra 45 minutes they would have gotten otherwise. All in all it was a really good experience and would definitely take my class there again.

            Tuesday was a SIP day so no kids but we got SO much done. We figured out the school wide behavior policy and homework policy for next year and came up with some awesome ideas. We think this might be the pilot for the whole district but that’s just a hunch.

            Wednesday we got through a lot of material again. We had to deal with a minor incident that actually happened last week but due to certain circumstances we couldn’t get to deal with it until today. Other than that the kids were good and we just kept on keeping on. I love these kids and they are such a good group. I have all the staff in the building continually tell me how lucky I got with the group I’m teaching and it’s the best group of kids any have seen come through this building and from what I can tell it’s the truth.

            Thursday and Friday were both practically complete busts. Thursday we had the morning to get through some math and it didn’t really go so well. The kids were so unbelievably quiet I thought they didn’t understand it. It ended up being that they didn’t THINK they understood it but they really did. They thought they kept making mistakes but they weren’t. That was probably the most frustrating thing because they were doing well but weren’t sure of themselves. The rest of the day was gym, lunch, music, and then they had a rehearsal for the concert that was that night. Holy smokes two of my girls had solos, the only solos in the whole thing, and they were AMAZING. I was so proud of them. Even the rest of my kids did great.

            Friday we had a collaboration meeting while the kids were at an awards “ceremony” for the third quarter rewards. Then they went right to gym, the bathroom break and lunch, then they worked on their social studies project until library which took us until the end of the day when we had our fun Friday and that was the week. All in all it was a really good week.