What I Wish My Teacher Knew...

While browsing through Instagram today, I came across the following photo from the first kindergarten teacher I ever worked with. She now teaches 3rd grade and was kind enough to allow me to share this on my blog. I know you're going to love it as much as I do. Prepare to laugh!

I knew that you would laugh! 

What the child meant to say was Kendamas. Mrs. C. had to have him read it to her because she had no idea. If you don't know what a Kendama is, it is a wooden skill toy that comes from Japan and is really popular with the kids right now. You can click on the link for a picture.

Thank you so much for sharing the humor with us Mrs. C. !

Kindergarten 2014-2015/ Part One

Another school year is over and I am feeling the love! Just take a look at the thoughtful gifts I received from Mrs. B. today...

I'm not going anywhere, but Mrs. B. is retiring.

She gave me this Coca-Cola tin sign... 

...and wrote me the sweetest letter. 

This is what I gave to Mrs. B., along with a clever card that I forgot to take a picture of (ugh).

I sure am going to miss working with her!

I will share some of the thoughtful gifts I received from students in my Kindergarten 2014-2015/ Part Two post.   :)

Special Friend of the Day- Two

Every child in Mrs. B.'s Kindergarten class has the opportunity to be Special Friend of the Day and, since all of the children have had a turn, Mrs. B. chose me to be "Special Friend" this morning. 

Last time I was Special Friend of the Day was in 2012. (Click HERE to see portraits of me from that group of students.) By comparison, I think the Kindergarten graduates from 2012 have more artistic talent than our students this year, nonetheless, they drew some pretty cute pictures. Take a look...

Never mind that I'm pig nosed and built like a box. This little girl is a future calligrapher! 

I'm sure it's obvious, but I'm going to tell you anyway. This is me getting out of my green car at Disneyland
 and Mickey and Minnie Mouse are there to greet me. 

The fact that this little guy took his time drawing my picture makes my heart melt. Usually, he is either daydreaming or hurrying to get through his assignments. (By the way, it was 'wear your school t-shirt' day.
I don't typically sport shirts with roadrunners on them.)

Here I am, riding Toy Story at California Adventure Park. I don't know what's going on in the crotch area. I was afraid to ask. 

This is me riding California Screamin'. The two girls in the box are waiting in line. IF ONLY lines were that short! 

Once again, I'm at Disneyland. This time I'm riding Pirates of the Caribbean. In Ethan's words...
"It's the dark part before you go up the hill. The box is where that thing flashes."

 I sure am going to miss Mrs. B.!

Kindergarten Bulletin Board for November

Mrs. B. does the cutest bulletin board for the month of November. She pins up a large turkey and then gives each child a feather to take home and decorate. As the children bring their feathers back to school, Mrs. B. has them come to the front of the classroom and do a show and tell about their decorated plumes, then she adds each one to the bulletin board. By the end of November, our board looks like this...

Here are a few of the embellished quills close up...

Not bad, right?!

I'm thinking there are a few beans and Goldfish crackers in 

the bottom of at least one child's backpack (top-middle).

I don't know the story behind the ornamental crayon on the bottom 

feather, but it's ingenuously creative, don't you agree?

Off-the-Clock Humor

When I walked into the classroom Wednesday morning, Mrs. B. had a birthday bag full of gifts for me, including candy with clever little notes...

Have I ever mentioned how much I love working with her? Not only is she a terrific teacher, but she is an amazing person.

I know Mrs. B. reads my blog at times and that makes me a little nervous. I have asked her to remember that my personal life and my professional life are a bit different. For instance, at school I would not joke about marijuana or boobs like I did in this post and this post. I would never cuss around the children like I cussed here and here and I most certainly wouldn't show this or this or even this video to the students.

That is why I was sooo happy when I read my birthday card (which I happen to LOVE) from Mrs. B....

It seems that Mrs. B. has a (dare I say) "not so professional" side too.    :)

Kindergarten Kids are a Crack Up!

I found this on Pinterest and had to share...

Source: doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com via Erin on Pinterest

Mary Kiker would NOT want 100 Grandmas! Haha. And what is little Erica going to do with 100 trampolines...or Preston with 100 guns? :)

Our class will celebrate 100 Days of Kindergarten this coming week. If we do anything as entertaining as this, I promise to post it.

Kindergarten Art

One of the little girls in our Kindergarten class drew this picture of Mrs. B.

By looking at it, can you guess what Mrs. B’s ethnicity is?







She's Caucasian. :)

Feeling Fortunate

Do you remember Caleb, the child from hell  that was in our Kindergarten class last year? He's the one that went to time out multiple times every day, spent more time in the Principal's office than any 5 year old I have ever known and had to sit in a desk away from the other children because he talked nonstop and stole from his classmates? (If you need to refresh your memory, read these posts: Oh Crap! and The Worth of Child .)


Anyway, I was working in the classroom today and looked up to see Caleb peeking in the door. He was holding an ice pack over his eye, so I asked him to come in and tell me what happened. (He said he fell off the monkey bars at recess.) I gave him a hug and told him I was happy he came to visit, but he needed to go back to his class, which, I'm sure, is exactly what the ladies in the office that gave him the ice pack had already told him.


After he left, I looked at Mrs. B., the teacher I work with, and said, "I'm actually glad Caleb came to visit us." She looked at me like I was crazy and I explained, "It just makes me feel soooo grateful that we don't have to deal with him this year."



His poor first grade teacher. Two days down, one hundred seventy eight to go. ....

The Worth of a Child

Do you remember my posts about the student that stole things from our classroom, pooped in a urinal, talked out of turn and pretty much had behavior issues all school year? Well, one morning last week he said, "Mrs. Lancaster. Don't look." (Words every adult wants to hear from a child, right?) He then preceded to ask me, "How do you spell you?", so I had him search for the sight word 'you' on our Word Wall. Then he asked how to spell 'are'. Trying to encourage him, I said, "If you can't find it on the Word Wall, sound it out. You can do it." He then continued to work hard on his 'secret project'. After a time, he got out of his chair and walked over to the table where I was testing students. Handing me a piece of scratch paper, he said, "Mrs. Lancaster, will you write your name?" I quickly jotted down my name and handed it back to him. A few minutes later, he got up from his desk, came back over and handed this to me...

THIS is why I do what I do. EVERY child is worth it!

Como Se Dice "Don't Break My Routine" en Espanol?

Cody loves holidays AND speaking Spanish, therefore, I think it's appropriate to air out my archives and share the following experience, originally posted October 4, 2010.

When Cody was in high school, he chose Spanish as one of his electives. He enjoyed it so much that he took it his sophomore, junior and senior year.

Every day, at the beginning of the period, the entire class would, in unison, say the alphabet in Spanish. One particular day, this important part of the routine was skipped. Cody became upset and no one could figure out why. Of course Cody would never just come out and say what was bothering him. By the end of the period, tears were streaking down his cheeks and when the bell rang, he would not budge! When the teachers and peer tutor finally figured out Cody was upset because the class didn't say the alphabet, they tried to convince him it would be okay. The class would be sure to remember to say the alphabet the next day. However, no amount of coaxing or persuading would get Cody out of that desk!

When students of the next period began to arrive, the teachers realized something needed to be done about Cody, who by this time was full on crying and causing a scene. They decided to pick Cody up, desk and all, and move him into the hall.

I don't remember what happened after that. Obviously Cody eventually calmed down and got over it, but I'm not sure his Spanish teacher ever did.

Teachers

Yesterday was the last day of teacher appreciation week at our school. As a teacher's assistant, I want to share a few things that I know about teachers.

1) Teachers appreciate students who are respectful. Help your child learn how and when to use the words thank you,  please and excuse me.

2) If you wish to show appreciation to your child's teacher, thank you cards from the heart are best. If you insist on giving something more, make it a gift card to a book store such as Barnes and Noble or a school supply store such as Staples.

3) Remember that kids share what they see and hear at home. Don't let it come as a surprise if your child's teacher knows you and your significant other "shower together to save water" or that your family "had to get rid of the dog because it was humping everything".

4) Along with academics, teachers take on the role of mother, father, psychologist, friend, and adviser every day. Plus, they are on the lookout for learning disabilities and issues (bigger than water conservation and pet problems) at home.

5) Teachers are not marriage counselors. At parent-teacher conferences, please stick to your child's progress, not issues between you and your partner.

6) Teachers of lower grades don’t like to be told "I wish I could color and paste all day long." Believe me, teachers do much more than you realize. If you have any doubt, spend time as a classroom volunteer.

7) Teachers don’t arrive at school 10 minutes before your child does and they don’t leave the minute the students get back on the bus. Most put in extra hours before and after school, on week-ends and even holidays.

8) It's your child's homework, not yours. Teachers can tell the difference between a parent helping their child with homework and doing it for them (especially when they’re clueless in class the next day).

9) Check your child's backpack for notes and homework. Just because your child says he did his homework, doesn’t mean it’s true. You must check.

10) Teachers spend money out of their own pockets. They often buy things the students need, such as school supplies and even shoes.

"Thank You For Being Awesome."

Remember my co-worker friend John? He's the one who went in for an Angiogram and came home with a uterus. (To read how something like that can happen, click here .)  Anyway,  it's teacher appreciation week at school and this morning John came into the classroom to show me something one of the students gave him. He was so happy about it, he had it laminated and is taking it home to frame.

And, just so you know, I wasn't completely excluded from acts of kindness. Look at what one of the Kindergarten girls and her mom brought me...



Seriously? Just Help the Kid Open the Damn Door!

I have wanted to share the following story for a long time, but when I think about it I tend to get angry all over again. Today, instead of pushing it to the back of my mind once more, I have decided it's time to share. After all, April is autism awareness month. After reading this post, I believe that those of you with children on the spectrum will understand why reliving this has been hard for me, and those of you who know little about autism will hopefully gain some valuable insight.


I worked as a middle school para-professional in the special education department from 1996 until the year 2000. I really enjoyed my job. Our department had a great team (the best in the school district and I'm not just tooting my own horn) and inclusion was of the utmost importance to us. Our students thrived to the point that we almost hated to send them on to high school for fear that everything we had helped them achieve would be thrown by the wayside.


The respect I felt for Mrs. M, the special education teacher that I worked with, changed however the day that I walked into the classroom and found her and Conner, one of our non-verbal autistic students, in the room. 

Conner was completely stressed out. His lunch tray was on the teachers desk, untouched and Mrs. M informed me that she wasn't allowing him to eat his lunch until he opened the bathroom door by himself. She told me she knew he could do it. She'd seen him open the door on his own before, therefore, she refused to give in and open it for him.

Conner was told he could eat his lunch after he opened the bathroom door by himself. This, alone, made me very upset, but when I looked down and saw that Conner's Pull-Up was so wet that it had ripped and fallen to the floor, I came unglued! The following thoughts raced around in my mind: Wasn't it enough that Conner realized he needed to go to the bathroom and went to the door? Was it really that big of a deal if he didn't turn the damn knob all the way? He was reaching out for help. So what? I didn't believe for one minute that Conner was refusing to turn the door knob just to be spiteful. Somewhere, inside his brain, he had a valid reason; we just didn't know what it was! In my eyes, his behavior certainly was not such to withhold his lunch from him.


In the sake of my rising blood pressure, I will skip a few details and let you know that I ended up in the principal's office with Mrs. M.  She justified her actions by saying that she had discussed the situation with Conner's foster mother and "It wasn't like he couldn't go to the bathroom. He was wearing a Pull-Up." The principal listened graciously and told me he understood why I was upset, but he also had total and complete faith in Mrs. M. (Of course he did! Even if he didn't, he wouldn't admit it in front of me. That's what "good" principals do; they back up their faculty.) Mrs. M and I ended up agreeing to disagree, and I quit at the end of the school year.


Mrs. M retired a couple of years later. I often wonder if she ever looks back and regrets the way she handled that situation. More importantly, I wonder how many children/adults with autism we, as a society, unintentionally hurt because we just don't understand what is going on in their heads.

As for me, I still work for the school district, just not in the special education department. I have the best of both worlds. Each weekday I get to work with sweet little Kindergarten children for a few hours, then come home and be the best mom ever to my autistic son Cody. Now I'm tooting my own horn!

Words Worth Repeating/ "Who's Weird- Besides Me?"

This is what my son with Autism says every time you give him his iPod. It was this same type of repetitive behavior that helped my husband and I figure out that he needed to be tested for Autism. We learned about Autism on the 'Sally Jesse Rafael Show'. Our son was around 10 years old by then. Doctors, teachers, as well as school district "specialist" had never even suggested that Autism might be one of his disabilities. Had we known sooner, we may have been able to teach him differently. You see, although he functions fairly well, he has certain behaviors that we just can't break. For instance, he won't get out of bed in the morning and go to the bathroom until someone tells him to. My husband or I have to be sure to get him up so he doesn't have any accidents in bed. Do we ever get to sleep in? Rarely.

Here's my advice to young parents who have been blessed with a disabled child...learn to be aggressive. You have that "instinct" that other people in your child's life won't. Also, educate yourself about your child's disability. Although the road ahead may not come easy, it can be smoother with extra effort on your part. I have found that the rewards from having my son as part of our family definitely outweigh all the trials that come with him.

Originally posted June 19, 2010 http://www.snippetsnstuff.com/2010/06/whos-weird-besides-me.html

Dr. Jean's Banana Dance

This week our Kindergarten class was introduced to Dr. Jean's Banana Dance. You've never heard of it? That's okay. Once you listen to it, you won't forget. The song will be stuck in your head for a good, long time!