In a month I will no longer go to work each day. My fifth graders will be gone. They will be looking towards junior high and I will be sleeping late and breathing in summer, but right now I am sad. I don't want to lose them. I've worked very hard this year and they have inched their way into my heart. This week has been a turning point. I can see the end coming and I'm realizing that with all the difficulties I have had with some of them, I can also see growth and I am proud of that for them. I am proud of the time and energy I have invested in them. I am proud of the way they have "turned out". We've worked hard together and I'm seeing the fruits of our labor and now that we know how to work with each other, I don't want to let that go, only to get another group next year who know nothing about how to work with me, nor how I should work with them. Plus they are going to be third graders. They're going to seem like "babies" to me and I'll have to start all over again. (moan and sigh....)
Who'll fix my computer? Who'll find anything/everything I lose or misplace? Who'll see things to be done and do them? Who'll offer to do this or that and handle in on their own, 'cause they are old enough to know how to do lots of things? It wigs me out. Mentally I am already making notes about how to train the next class.
I know this is purely selfish and I certainly want my students to go to their next step, but I'm honestly going to miss them. It's been a good year and I'm getting all mushy....
Thank you, Lord, for this group. Please help them move on and help me to let go. Ends are also chances for new beginnings...
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Saturday, May 9, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Field day/Feel Day
Wednesday was Field Day at my school. I will mention that I'm the most "senior" person (and I don't mean the length of time I've been teaching at this school!!) on my 6-woman team and we were told that there would be events for the teachers. First of our events was "hoppity ball", which is one of those big balls with a handle attached. "LEAN forward" we were told by the PE coach, "otherwise you'll fall backward". How hard could this be...bounce to the line. Seemed like something fun. The whistle blew and I was the slowest one off the line because it was hard to bounce this body up in the air plus go forward at the same time! Okay, I wouldn't win. But then I fell off! Okay, I wasn't going to finish either. I brushed myself off and tried to preserve my dignity as I realized falling in the dirt and soiling my clothes wasn't my idea of a good time nor were my 5th graders very impressed. The kids had more activities so they didn't dwell on my poor perfomance.
The next event for staff was the "waddle ball". We were to place a playground ball between our knees and waddle to the finish line. I could do this and I did...even came in second. I was pumped!! (My competetive genes have been v-e-r-y slow to develop, but they are in full force now!) Kids were proud and we were having a great time.
By the end of their festivities, the PE coach stood on a chair and told them to go in the gym for the final event..the teachers' obstacle course. Once a hundred and fifty kids were in the gym lining the walls, the 6 of us lined up and listened to the coach's instructions. As I've mentioned earlier, I "out age" these women by 20 to 30 years, and I didn't want to be the last one to finish. When the whistle blew, I ran to the hula hoops, grabbed one, swiveled my hips and sang "Happy Birthday"! (My own children know how much I used to enjoy the hula hoop....but by now I need one with a bigger circumference!) I finished that with only one drop of the hoop and ran to the "toss the rubber chicken into the plastic pail" event. Tougher than it looked, but after 4-5 shots, I succeeded! On to the bowling and I was catching up! Knocked the ten pins down and then grabbed a balloon and ran to a chair to burst it under my buttinski. I jump when balloons break, so this is not a fun thing for me, but I smooshed that thing and was the first to cross the balance beam. In my mind, I was going to be the winner, and I was really psyched! The last event was to sink a basketball, and by now, I was sucking wind and trying to beat my 25-year old partner, but no such luck. She sunk one and by now I was shooting underhanded, but I kept at it till I was a winner, just not the winner. She and I both collapsed on the floor and were very proud of ourselves...till we looked over and a teammate was on the floor in the middle of the gym needing the nurse's attention and later we found out breathing problems claimed another.
I was sorry two of my friends were suffering, but I was pleased it wasn't me, for the sheer fact I feel (and am) so much older than they are. As I got closer to my class, they were actually smiling and trying to high five me! I felt great!
Once we got back to class, the kids started talking about how I fell on the hoppity thing, but then I'd improved on the waddle ball and finally I'd done well to get second on the obstacle course! I was enjoying the moment and their satisfaction with my performance.
We got back to work and the class was working on math when I had to use the restroom. I returned and was sitting at my desk helping a student, when another student came up and got in close to me and I thought "what is she doing?" (She generally hugs me every day but at the end of the day..not in the middle.) I was about to say, "Step back, you're in my space," when I realized she was trying to whisper something to me. I don't hear out of my left ear so turned my head for her to speak into my right ear, when I caught the words, "You have toilet paper sticking out of your pants." I thanked her and reached around back to "take care of things" and all the while mortified!! Oh my gracious! Casually I left the room and fixed the problem and returned with no one else the wiser. Now I do need to mention that I have another student who had just that morning made fun of my basketball skills (or lack thereof) and seems to criticize me to her friends as well as to the other teacher, so I was quite thankful she hadn't seen my "tail". I did have a good laugh later on and it certainly made for a good story in the teacher's lunch room.
My Field Day '09 memories will be good ones and I hope I will always enjoy a good laugh on me!
The next event for staff was the "waddle ball". We were to place a playground ball between our knees and waddle to the finish line. I could do this and I did...even came in second. I was pumped!! (My competetive genes have been v-e-r-y slow to develop, but they are in full force now!) Kids were proud and we were having a great time.
By the end of their festivities, the PE coach stood on a chair and told them to go in the gym for the final event..the teachers' obstacle course. Once a hundred and fifty kids were in the gym lining the walls, the 6 of us lined up and listened to the coach's instructions. As I've mentioned earlier, I "out age" these women by 20 to 30 years, and I didn't want to be the last one to finish. When the whistle blew, I ran to the hula hoops, grabbed one, swiveled my hips and sang "Happy Birthday"! (My own children know how much I used to enjoy the hula hoop....but by now I need one with a bigger circumference!) I finished that with only one drop of the hoop and ran to the "toss the rubber chicken into the plastic pail" event. Tougher than it looked, but after 4-5 shots, I succeeded! On to the bowling and I was catching up! Knocked the ten pins down and then grabbed a balloon and ran to a chair to burst it under my buttinski. I jump when balloons break, so this is not a fun thing for me, but I smooshed that thing and was the first to cross the balance beam. In my mind, I was going to be the winner, and I was really psyched! The last event was to sink a basketball, and by now, I was sucking wind and trying to beat my 25-year old partner, but no such luck. She sunk one and by now I was shooting underhanded, but I kept at it till I was a winner, just not the winner. She and I both collapsed on the floor and were very proud of ourselves...till we looked over and a teammate was on the floor in the middle of the gym needing the nurse's attention and later we found out breathing problems claimed another.
I was sorry two of my friends were suffering, but I was pleased it wasn't me, for the sheer fact I feel (and am) so much older than they are. As I got closer to my class, they were actually smiling and trying to high five me! I felt great!
Once we got back to class, the kids started talking about how I fell on the hoppity thing, but then I'd improved on the waddle ball and finally I'd done well to get second on the obstacle course! I was enjoying the moment and their satisfaction with my performance.
We got back to work and the class was working on math when I had to use the restroom. I returned and was sitting at my desk helping a student, when another student came up and got in close to me and I thought "what is she doing?" (She generally hugs me every day but at the end of the day..not in the middle.) I was about to say, "Step back, you're in my space," when I realized she was trying to whisper something to me. I don't hear out of my left ear so turned my head for her to speak into my right ear, when I caught the words, "You have toilet paper sticking out of your pants." I thanked her and reached around back to "take care of things" and all the while mortified!! Oh my gracious! Casually I left the room and fixed the problem and returned with no one else the wiser. Now I do need to mention that I have another student who had just that morning made fun of my basketball skills (or lack thereof) and seems to criticize me to her friends as well as to the other teacher, so I was quite thankful she hadn't seen my "tail". I did have a good laugh later on and it certainly made for a good story in the teacher's lunch room.
My Field Day '09 memories will be good ones and I hope I will always enjoy a good laugh on me!
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