Strike!

As I'm sure many people have heard, the Chicago Teacher's Union is now on strike. It has become a terrifying reality. Tomorrow at 6:30, my colleagues and I will walk the picket lines to stand up for what we believe in.

The amount of both support and opposition to the strike has been overwhelming. I have so many amazing friends, including many non-teachers and parents, who have been incredibly supportive of what Chicago teachers feel they need to do. But the comments bashing teachers, although not as frequent as the supportive comments, sting like hell.

OUR MAIN CONCERN IS NOT COMPENSATION. If I was doing this solely for my paycheck, I would be punching in at a holding center tomorrow to ensure I get paid. Yes, my work day has increased by about 20% this year. I would not mind not making a single dime more IF I was given all the resources that I need to successfully do everything the board expects me to do.

My school has 45 kindergarteners and 1 teacher. We have created k/1 splits to avoid having them all in one classroom. Between the three k-1 teachers, there are 95 children. A day hasn't passed where a new child transferred in. Having 30 students has made it nearly impossible for me to give each child the attention that they deserve. The board would like to have up to 55 students in a classroom. 55!

Close to 200 of our 675 schools have no art or music programs. They have no libraries, and if they do, there is no librarian (like my school. The library is largely unused). They have no computer labs or functioning classroom technology. They have no playgrounds for students.

30 kids + 1 classroom + 90 degree weather + 86% humidity+ 3rd/4th floor classrooms = unthinkable working conditions. This was my reality as a student. However, when I grew up, there was no NCLB and high stakes testing. How can kids learn, and excel, like this? 

Our clinicians serve up to 1,000 kids each. We have a nurse, social worker, speech pathologist, and occupational therapist one day a week.  Most of those days are spent in IEP meetings, not servicing kids. In high poverty, high crime areas (such as where my school is located), these services are needed tremendously. Expanding clinician caseloads will not decrease poverty and violence in our schools.

Special Education teachers frequently have self contained classes of 20 kids. Resource teachers are expected to provide twice as many minutes to students as there are in a day. Many kids go unevaluated because there is no time or resources to service them if they qualify.

Yes, striking will be a disservice to kids tomorrow and the days to come. However, it would be irresponsible and disgusting to not address these crucial social issues just to have a quick resolution.

Once compensation and benefits are settled, negotiations are over. CTU is not holding out for more money. We are holding out until the other issues are settled so they are able to be addressed.

I teach in a primarily African American community. I am a woman of color. If my kids are taught to respect figures who stood up for their futures during the Civil Rights Movement, they deserve teachers who will stand up for their future as well. My classroom has a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote: The time is always right to do what is right.  It is my time to do what I believe what will do right by my kids.

I love my school. I love my city. I LOVE my students. I love my administration. These are my opinions and belong to no one else. I thank everyone who has lent their support in this cause. I am hopeful that we can quickly reach an agreement that best serves the students of Chicago.

Harry Kindergarten

I SHOULD be finishing up my lessons, yet my blogger button is calling me!

Today, as I searched math activities to use with my new kinders, I stumbled across Harry Kindergarten. If you don't know this man, go to you tube and watch his videos! He is amazing!

I have A LOT of auditory learners this year, so I was really hoping to find something musical that can help them remember not only academics, but also routines. I'm in love with this...

 

and this...

and a billion more. These songs are perfect for all my littles, and I know it will really get them pumped up for the lesson!

I'm REALLY, REALLY hoping to get some classroom pics up soon! I'm gonna try! Good luck to everyone starting school this week and for everyone setting up their amazing classrooms!


-dede

My brain hurts...

 

This song has been on repeat nonstop in my head.

Tomorrow will close out my first week of the school year! I doubled my class size in the past few days (I had an amazing 14 on Monday, up to 17 Tuesday, 25 Wednesday, and 28 Thursday). 3 of my kids are autistic, many are behavior problems, and only 4 can read at grade level (or read at all for that matter). This will definitely be a doozy of a year! As much as I'm excited for new little loves to come to my amazing school, I don't know how many more I can handle!

 We've had 41 kinders enroll, with only 1 kinder teacher, meaning we had to make a k/1 split, and I got that lucky job! Mind you, last year I was frustrated with the babiness of my second graders. I decided I could handle first. But kinders? One literally turned 5 yesterday. They are babies!

It is extremely difficult to have a class where you have one amazing little guy who is 6-going-on-60 who can read at an M, and some who don't know how to hold a crayon (They took one of my little guys out today and put him with the "regular" kinder class because of not being able to hold a crayon, tell us his name, etc. He told me he loved me during lunch and came back with my class after recess and didn't want to leave. Damn near broke my heart).

My brain is exploding trying to make my instruction successful for all of my kiddos, regardless of where they are. It's killing me. Nothing seems to be working with the little littles. ANY words of advice or recommendations to blogs/sites that are helpful for primary split classes would make my life GLORIOUS! 

To all my kindergarten bloggy friends out there, I want to reiterate how AMAZING you are for what you do!

Thanks for listening to my ramblings! Hope everyone is having an amazing week!

-dede

Tomorrow is the day!

In 9ish hours, I'll have ~18 little ones sitting in front of me! I'm SO excited/terrified/exhausted/nervous/not so sure I'm ready. Thanks to my mom, my room looks close to being ready. My plans are ready, my materials are ready, I just need to get in the mindset!

Anywho, because I'm a perfectionist, I haven't shown anyone my room. Soon! I promise! On Thursday I got my AMAZING cameo in the mail!


I've been busy making awesomeness for my classroom with it! I SO should have ordered this earlier in the summer. I feel a new obsession growing...

Sorry for the boringness of this post, but for everyone who starts tomorrow as well (or who has already started...eeesh!), good luck and have an AMAZING day!

-dede

5 more days till the children arrive...

And I pretty much have been living at school. Kids aren't wrong when they assume that.

I have a quick question for everyone: what do you use to hang stuff to cinder block walls? I must say, I made a pretty frickin' sweet word wall, but I can't get it to stay for the life of me. Packing tape- does not work. Masking tape- does not work. Duct tape- does not work. Sticky tack- does not work. Hot glue- does not work. I put some of these guys


on the posters today at 5:00, and they were still up when I left at 7:15, so I'm hoping they work out. I stopped at target to get more, and if they seem to hold up through the night, I'll use them.

Does anyone else have any secret method for hanging on cinder blocks? I'm going a little cray cray trying to get everything to stick!

Good luck to everyone working in your rooms! I've been stalking all the pictures :)

I've been a bad blogger....oh, and a currently!

Oh, my, have I been a busy beaver! I feel like such a bad blogger, neglecting my poor internetz! I've spent 6 of the last 7 days at school, trying to set up, plan, and get in the back to school mindset! That plus 90 degree weather is making me CrAzY! On top of everything, neither of my printers are working so I'm getting super stressed about having all my awesomeness ready!

Tomorrow is back to school for me, meaning one more week til I meet my new babies! I got to meet one of them at our back to school fair this weekend, and if all of my boos are as adorable as this one, I will be one happy teacher!

To let the world know I haven't disappeared, I'm linking up for Farley's August Currently.

Most is self explanatory.. There are oh so many things that I need for back to school. I listed a few of my faves.

I'm crossing my fingers that I get a great deal done in my room in the next few days so I can share the loveliness with everyone! Good luck to everyone getting their classes together!

I FINALLY got into my classroom!

As you can see, I am super, crazily excited that my school is officially open! I haven't seen my classroom since I interviewed there in April, so I spent a lot of time today just taking it all in and trying to figure out what to do with everything.

Classrooms always look so sad at the beginning when there is just desks and shelves and no love. Here's a sneak peek of what will soon be an awesome room!

Some views when you walk in....

 

Holy crap I have windows! My last room was a very little box with NO windows and walls that were entirely yellow. It really brought me down. I hope my kids didn't feel that way too. I can now have plants and LIFE in my classroom! 

My amazing rug!

And, the absolute best part... I have a huge walk in closet with tons of storage space!!!!! YAY!!!!

 Last year's teacher actually left behind a lot of stuff for me. I can't wait to sort through all of it!

I actually have the smallest of the primary rooms (mine is the only one that isn't the size of a walmart). I think it's a perfect size, and SO much bigger and better than my old one! I am so in love with my room, school, and new colleagues.

There is still so much to do in the next 13 days! Wish me luck!

Hand Signal Signs

Seeing as school starts in 2 weeks (for my kids- I've been in PLCs for the last few weeks and I finally get to get in my classroom Monday!!!! WOOOOO!!!), I've been working on as much as I can from home.

I finished my hand signal posters and they came out SO CUTE! I'll post them up once they are in my classroom! A friend really liked the idea, but is (admitted to by himself) not the most cutesy creative guy out there. I whipped up a quick little hand signal file for him, and I thought I'd share it with anyone who is interested :)

The signals I use that I LOVE are:

1 finger up- I need a pencil
2 fingers up- I need to use the washroom/get water
3 fingers up- I need a tissue
4 fingers up- I have a question
5 fingers up- quiet signal

Once I started using these, classroom disruptions cut down a ton. I especially loved this during small groups, because I was able to make eye contact and give a nod yes/no without interrupting the group I was with. I really love the signals for pencils and tissues as well, because I get to monitor movement, and notice the ones who are getting up a little too much.

Do you use any hand signals? How do they work out for you?

Little bit of ramblings....and a FREEBIE!!

For anyone here in Chicagoland, I feel bad for you son. I'm not doing so well with the heat, although I got some great shopping in. If you live anywhere near the Target on Roosevelt and Clark, GET THERE NOW. I was walking down Roosevelt to the fabric store to shop for my mom's birthday, and I thought, "oh, let's take a quick stop in Target." I didn't go past the dollar spot and wound up spending close to $40. Best dollar spot in the city, from the 6 Target's I've been to recently (problem, much? Maybe we should start Targaholics Anonymous?) I also got some really cool magnetic hall passes at Michael's and some supplies for a project in my home that I am SUPER excited about! Oh, and a pretty great gift for my mom!

I also am meeting with my new grade level partner tomorrow! I couldn't be more excited! From our 3-email exchange, I have a feeling we are going to be an amazing team! I've never really had a partner who cared to work together, so I am SUPER excited!

I am also SUPER excited to have reached 50 followers! I've been a little hesitant to put some of the things that I make on tpt because, well, a lot of what you guys put out there really puts me to shame! I feel so blah! I told myself that if and when I get 50 followers, I would finally post something, and I have! I posted a little sports themed skip counting freebie. I used this for centers, where my kids would use the numbers to skip count. I was able to differentiate by the amount they counted to. Hope these can be useful!

I also thought I'd post some organizational bin labels that I use that are (surprise, surprise) polka dotted! I'm very visual, so I like to be able to see what is in each of my bins. I printed these out 2 or 4 to a page to fit the specific bin size I used. For all you polka dot people out there, I hope these can be helpful!

click on me! 

These are my first freebies, so PLEASE, I would love feedback on how I can improve my products in the future!

Clip Chart Thoughts?

How does everyone feel about the clip chart?

I must say, I LOVE LOVE LOVE mine. It set the stage for my classroom from the very beginning. I loved it and my kids loved it.

 Blurry but you get the idea.

One thing that I really loved  was the positive aspect of it. I had some little people who were always good, and it was a great way to recognize them for going above and beyond. I also had some little stinkers lovelies who had a real tough time with self-control. I liked that I was able to  give them a warning and a chance to think about their actions, knowing that they could redeem themselves by continuing to make positive decisions. I had consequences for the last two (teacher's choice- they got a logical consequence and 5 minutes off recess and parent contact- parent call home and loss of 10 minutes of recess. Both had to write in the reflection journal). So, if you landed on, say, teacher's choice, I would always give the consequence, but I would also allow students to move up. I had a few kids who would shut down if they were at the bottom of the chart, so giving them the chance to move back up allowed me some sanity and helped them keep their sense of self worth. Something about seeing yourself higher made a big difference. Also, if you made it to top notch, you got a bling on your clip. We all loved this!

At some of my most recent pd's, they have stressed not allowing students to move back up from a consequence chart. The suggested chart style has levels for

 

I'm feeling that this is too negative. First of all, I do not like to start kids at "excellent." I feel that showing up and following basic expectations shows me that you are ready to learn, not so much that you are going above and beyond. Also, with the little ones, it's really important for them to know that they can be "good." If they have a rough morning, and they know there is no redeeming themselves, what motivation do they have for making positive decisions throughout the day? I am notorious for keeping library books out way after they are due (whoops!), but I pay my fines and the library allows me to move on and take out more books. If I face my consequence, shouldn't I be able to make things "normal" again, show my librarian that I'm still an awesome patron who just loves to read?

What are your thoughts on the clip chart? How is it used in your class? Is there any other type of visual behavioral system that you use?

Thanks in advance for any input!