Hello,
Well, we are continuing the climb. Six didn't bring in their homework today. Improvement.
I got some nice feedback on yesterday's blog, including from some of teachers. I'm always wary of being too preachy and sometimes my emotions get the better of me, but apparently I didn't cross any lines last night. Thank you for the feedback. It is nice to hear from all of you. There is no such thing as too much communication between a parent and teacher. I jokingly wrote an email last year to a parent at the beginning of June that said, "Are you okay? It's almost noon and I haven't got an email from you yet." So if you have something on your mind, please share.
We started a new procedure today. We are filling out our assignment books with an hour still left in the day. I think I may move it up right before afternoon recess tomorrow. That will be motivating. It is amazing how long it takes to get an assignment book out near the end of the day. It was much quicker today, but I think the pre-recess idea will work even better. I signed everyone's assignment book today once they got the correct info. I think I missed a few spelling lists though. You may want to check your child's list before they start studying.
We went down to the dining room today and talked about the anxiety that can go along with finding a place to sit, finding a friendly face, sitting alone, etc. It is a problem that they didn't have to deal with nearly as much at their old schools. Here, most everyone is still unfamiliar. The cafeteria seats are built so kids can just "move down." Kids often feel left out. We did a little brainstorming on what we can do to help alleviate some of the issues.
I have volunteered to take on two Bowdoin students this year. They generally will be in our classroom three hours a week. Coral came in this morning. She was a Red Riot from South Portland before going to Bowdoin. She will do a lot of observing and then will hopefully lend a hand on some our projects as we move forward.
I read Gleam and Glow by Eve Bunting to the class. This is a continuation of my ongoing efforts to show them what they can get out of picture books. Gleam and Glow is a fantastic picture book about a family that has to leave their home by foot because of oncoming soldiers. They throw their two gold fish in the pond by their house before they go, saying, "A couple of extra days of life is important, even for a fish." They walk a long, long way to cross the Bosnian border to live in a peace camp. Years later, upon their return home, they find their house burned and the landscape "looking like the surface of the moon." Then they see their pond, teeming with life. Hundreds of gold fish make the water a dazzling display of color in a gray, bleak world. It is based on the true story of the village of Jezero in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The fish helped rebuild the town because of all the tourism that it brought to the village.
I finished and asked, "Isn't that a great story? See what you can find out from a picture book?"
One student raised his hand and said, "That's the best picture book I've ever heard." Music to my ears.
This reading lead to a much longer discussion than I had anticipated. I relayed a couple stories of students' families that I had taught in Portland that had escaped from Somalia to live in UN camps. We talked about how lucky we are to live in the U.S. and not have to worry about that. Someone brought up 9/11, saying that we can be attacked. This led to more questions and discussion.
Tonight's homework is not what I had originally planned, but I didn't think Gleam and Glow would take up my whole literacy block. The question that I want them to answer is: What would you take if you had to leave your house and walk to freedom and safety? (and why, of course) It all has to be small enough that you could carry it in a backpack, but you can assume that there would be no electricity in the camp that you were headed to.
I think we'll have some more interesting conversation tomorrow.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
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