Gang Signs and the Vomit Touch

Last week I was walking my class back to our classroom from lunch, and noticed that a bunch of the boys were hanging back in the line. They had all four fingers crossed on both hands and were holding them up waving them around.  I told them to quit playing around in line, stop throwing gang signs and get into the classroom.  They all giggled and went to their seats.  I know they are not gang members, they are far from it, but it sure looked like they were pretending to be from the "west side".  Today, as I was walking my class back from lunch again, I heard one of the boys yell out to the kids in front of him to "cross your fingers against the vomit touch!!!"  I turned around and saw my whole class waving their crossed fingers around in the air, and all of a sudden it dawned on me that these kids have been crossing their fingers on the way back from lunch, trying to walk around this spot where some kid hurled in the hallway like two months ago in an effort to avoid contacting the "vomit touch!" Only in middle school!  

Kids and Nature

Teaching my students all about nature!

Many kids today don't get to go out into nature much.  It is too bad, because when I was growing up, I remember running around outside from after breakfast till the streetlights came on!  We caught crayfish and minnows from ponds, went exploring in the woods, tried to catch birds, picked berries, built tree houses and had great times in the outdoors.  These days we have to take our kids on field trips to get these types of experiences.  In our area we take a field trip out to the woods where our kids get to ride in a boat, catch critters from a river, hold snakes, turtles, gators and chicks, learn to use a compass, build a shelter and run around in the woods.  Many of my students have never done anything like this in their life!  They ask a million questions, take two million pictures with their cell phones and have the time of their middle school lives!  What are you doing to introduce your kids to nature?

Can you describe your life in just 6 words???

Science Family Night

I hosted my first science family night tonight!  It was totally worth the effort and a great night!  I had my students each complete a science fair project over the past month and I invited them to bring their families in to see all the projects displayed.  I had slips for the kids to fill out with their favorite three projects.  It was great seeing how proud the kids were of their work and to see them show their parents around!  I must share with you that some of my kids barely speak English, and others have learning disabilities, while still others are very, very bright.  They all walked around and carefully judged everyone's work.  Many of them didn't even vote for themselves which was surprising!  Today was one of those days where I just love the fact that I chose to be a teacher.

The Mayflower, Corks and Boat Races

Whose Mayflower can sail the fastest?

The "SS Swag"

Sometimes I get my best teaching ideas at the last minute.  On Friday at about 4 in the morning, I woke up and was laying there staring at the ceiling, when all of a sudden the most awesome Thanksgiving lesson idea hit me- Mayflower boat races!  
My middle school science classes had been learning all about global wind patterns (such as the trade winds, horse latitudes, etc...) this week and this was the perfect tie-in.  We had talked about how the Mayflower had to use the wind (not a motor!) to sail all the way across the Atlantic ocean.  Then I gave my kids the following materials: a cork, a paperclip, 1/2 sheet of paper, string and tape.  They had 5 minutes to form their own groups and gather materials, 5 minutes to sketch out their design in their lab notebook, 10 minutes to build and then we headed outside to two large bins of water that I had set up.  One side of the water bin was "America" and one side was "England".  Their job was to get from America to England as fast as they could with only wind power!  The kids (and I!) had a blast!

Some kids only folded up the paper and put the cork underneath.

The boat to the left was the fastest one all day!

The square boat design worked pretty well!

These designs were so creative!  
And nothing gets by these kids- as one group was busily constructing their design, one girl turned to me and said, "so where did you get all these corks from, Miss?"  I looked at her without missing a beat and said "from the science room, so, no dear, I did not have to drink 7 bottles of wine to get them!"  Her group was cracking up and so was I!

Can you describe your life in just 6 words?

The Car Pick Up Line

What is the biggest complaint about the car pick up line?  That it takes too long!  I have directed traffic in our school's car pick up line for about 5 years now.  I am out there rain or shine, standing there waving my arm trying to get parents to please pull forward.  At our school we try to load about 10 cars at once, so the line moves along, but the parents don't want their kids to have to walk over to the car, and keep stopping and trying to pick them up one by one.  Teachers at our school are officially off, and standing there directing traffic for at least 5 or 10 minutes after we could have left school, but hey, it is better than cafeteria duty.  
You would not believe the things I have seen out there at the pick up line over the years!
I have seen parents flip the teachers off (hasn't happened for awhile!)
I have seen parents argue with the teachers (boy, they do not want to pull forward!)
I have seen parents flip each other off and yell at each other (do NOT cut in line!) 

I have seen people fall asleep in their car and hold up the whole line (happens quite often!)
I have seen cars break down and even helped jump-start one myself (while still directing traffic!)

I have seen cars that could have qualified as clown cars in the circus because they have so many people in them.
We had a kid who got picked up on a motorcycle (with helmet).
We had a dog bark out of a car window at us the entire time the car was in the line for a whole year.
I even had a car with someone's little sister in it who would give me high five me every day!

What is the strangest thing you have seen in the car pick-up line?

An Empty Classroom

Believe it or not, most teachers get nervous and excited about the first day of school!  We even have two of them to get through- our first teacher day back, and then the first day back for students. 
Walking into a quiet empty classroom can cause different teachers to have different emotions.  Some are overwhelmed while some can't wait to decorate and cover it all over with posters.  Some teachers are ready to come back from summer, some come back dragging their feet and still others come back kicking and screaming clinging to summer! 
When I walked into my room today, I was excited to be back and to decorate in my new theme: Frogs!  It is a little overwhelming being back though- so much to do in so little time!  I get nervous and excited to meet my new students and their parents.  
The good thing about teaching is that each year is a chance to start new, to try different things and to tweak the old things to make them even better!  How do you feel about the new school year?