It's No Wonder

This post is still in the very beginning stages.  Any ideas would be very helpful.  I am not really liking the last paragraph.  Would it be better without it?  I was also wondering about even posting it on this blog with privacy issues, but I am going to put it on here for now. 

It’s No Wonder

          How can little kids have to deal with so much?  No five or six year old should ever have to deal with some of the things my little ones have been through already in their short lives.  It’s no wonder they have a hard time learning what they are expected to learn in kindergarten.

One had to move because his dad is in jail for stealing.  Now he moves to a new city and into a tiny apartment with his aunt and shares a room with his mom and his little sister.  It’s no wonder he has a hard time learning his letter sounds. 

Another one sees her mom and dad fight and the police come and take her dad away.  He is gone for two months because he is an illegal alien and has to stay in immigration jail.  It’s no wonder she can only count to ten and doesn’t know all of her letters.

One little boy had to move out of his house and into a different house with his other relatives.  His family can’t afford school supplies or a Halloween costume and they don’t have enough money for food for their family.  It’s no wonder he isn’t making as much progress this year as the other kids in my class.

Little kids shouldn’t feel different than their friends just because their parents can’t afford basic things.  Five and six year olds should not have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.  They should not have to wonder where their parents are or why their parents are making such bad choices.  Children shouldn’t have a care in the world and they should be able to just be kids.  They should be only concerned about what to play next.  How can they be expected to learn when their lives are crashing in around them? 

 

 

Here's my classroom book I am working on.  I need a few more letters, so if you have any great ideas, let me know.  I am thinking of publishing this one on Shutterfly and then sending it home with a different student each night.  They will read it with their families and bring it back the next day. 

My Classroom ABC BOOK

A is for Angela, Aiden, and Ayman.

B is for Bodhi.

C is for Caleigh and Carsen.

D is for dinosaurs.   Dinosaurs are dynamite!

E is for Evergreen Elementary School.

F is for friends.  Many friends have moved to other schools this year like Sam, Jorian, Parker, Destiny, Tiana, and Penny.

G is for Greyson and gingerbread.

H is for hundred and hexagon.  Hexagons have 6 sides.

I is for igloo.  January 28^th was igloo day.

J is for Jacob and Jordan.

K is for kindergarten.  We are the best kindergarteners ever!

L is for Laila and Laurel.

M is for McKenna, Mackenzie, and Mrs. Brose.

N is for Noah and Nadia.

O is for

P is for Penguin.  Our favorite penguin is Tacky.  “He was an odd bird, but a nice bird to have around.”

Q is for

R is for reading.  We are becoming such good readers.

S is for snails.  We learned about land snails and water snails this year.

T is for Tristen, TommiJo, and Tyler.

U is for

V is for Veronicca and parent volunteers.  Thank you for all your hard work!

W is for Wonderful Writing.  We are all writers. 

X is for

Y is for Yaritxa. (We usually call her Itxa for short).

Z is for zany.   We love to act zany!

I'm sick

Here's my attempt at poetry.  For those of you who have been reading my responses, you know how I feel about poetry, so this is a big step for me...I wrote this last week when I was a litte bit under the weather and a little bit under the effects of cold medication...  I was also not sure what to do about punctuation.  Any ideas?  (I am feeling much better now, thank goodness!)



I'm sick


I'm sick
      It's no fun being sick

Drip, drip, drip
     goes my nose

I'm sick

Pound, pound, pound
     goes my head

I'm sick

Scratch, scratch,scratch
     goes my throat

I'm sick
      It's no fun being sick

I'm sick of being sick!

The Two Week Emotional Roller Coaster

The Two Week Emotional Roller Coaster

                It is a good thing the Olympics happen only every four years.  I do not think I could take it if they happened more often than that.  Thank goodness that the winter and summer games are spaced out every two years.  It just about takes me that long to recover from one to the next. 

                Let me just give you a little background; I am Canadian.  And as a Canadian, I am fiercely proud of my country and its maple leaf.   And when the Olympics come around, particularly the Winter Games, I tend to go a little crazy.   I stay up way too late watching more TV than anyone should ever watch.  I watch things like curling, and no one in their right mind should ever watch that much curling.  I check the internet each morning to see if Canada has gotten any more medals while I slept (that darn time change).  And I become an emotional basket case.  I cry just about every day watching the Olympics.

                I knew it was going to come, like it does every Olympics, but this year it was even earlier than usual.  My husband jokes that the Olympics are just too much for me, and it’s true.  We turned on NBC to watch the opening ceremony.  We had our map of the world out so I could show my girls where Sochi was and all of the countries being represented.  The NBC opening Olympic music came through the speakers of the TV.  The opening music!  I could feel my heart skip a beat.  The excitement rose and I felt the need to take a big swallow.  Gulp.  And my eyes began to mist up.  The opening music?  Really, Randa?  The opening music?  Bob Costas hadn’t even taken the stage.  This was going to be a long two weeks!   And the tears have continued to fall. 

                Seeing any Canadian get a medal automatically chokes me up, but it is more than that.  It is about more than winning  gold or silver or  bronze.  People come from all over the world, from USA and Russia, to Tonga and Nepal, and for two weeks, the world seems different to me.  Somehow smaller and closer together.  We are all the same.  And the tears rise to the surface again.   

                Then when there is a selfless act, well that just puts me over the top.  This time a Canadian speed skater, Gilmore Junio, gave up his spot to skate in the 1000 m and let his friend Denny Morrison skate in his place.  Junio knew that Morrison had fallen in the Canadian trials and had finished behind him, even though Morrison was the better skater.  So Junio let his friend skate instead and Denny Morrison gets the silver.  That is the true Olympic spirit.  Or the cross country skier who won his race and waited 28 minutes until the last skier finished so he could shake his hand.  It’s just too much for me and the tears fall again.

                 Luckily for me, this only happens every  four years...

Candy Crush - SWEET!

I have been thinking about my kindergarteners and the kinds of things they might write about.  I know that my 2nd grade daughter loves to write books about things she knows a lot about.  She made one book about all of the Super Mario characters she knew about, another about sea creatures, numerous books about SpongeBob, and even one about every restaurant she has ever gone to.   I figured this might be a good place for my kindergarteners to start writing, and as I was thinking about it, Candy Crush came to my mind.

It still needs a lot of work, but here it is...

 

Candy Crush 

 

     I love Candy Crush!  I am addicted to Candy Crush!  I can't stop playing this crazy game!   I started playing a few months ago, and I just can't stop! 

 

     Who came up with this idea?  All you have to do is line up three of the same colors in a row.  Doesn't sound difficult, does it?  Then why have I been staying up late each night just trying to crush some candy? 

 

     I see the levels that I haven't reached on the map haunting me and I think, "I need to get to each of those levels.  I NEED to get better at this game.  Really?  Do I NEED to play this game over and over and over? 

 

     Luckily for me, and so many other Candy Crush addicts out there, there is a limit of playing only five games before getting kicked off the game and needing to recharge/refill up your lives.  If this limit wasn't imposed on me, my children may never get fed or the dishes may never get done.  I guess that is how the geniuses behind this game make their money because you can always buy another life to keep playing.  Not me!  I am not that addicted  I have WILL POWER!  (okay, maybe I am just cheap!)

 

    I have even sucked my seven year old daughter, Campbell, into this pit of addiction.  She knows how to get me every time, "Mom, would you like to play Candy Crush with me?"  in her sweet little voice.  Who can resist spending quality time with your daughter doing something we both love?  (She and I both know she has used up her ipad time for the day, but somehow I fall for it again and again).

 

     For those of you who haven't yet experienced the Barry White - "SWEET" or ever seen a "FIVESIE" (Campbell and my own name for the beautiful candy that appears when you line up five in a row), you probably think I am completely nuts.  But for those of you kindred spirits out there who are just as addicted as I am, what level are you on?  It is a pretty awesome game!

 

  

My first Blog Entry

So here it is, my first blog entry ever...  who knows, maybe one day I will be one of those teachers who blogs daily about their life and students... we shall see!