Calla Lilies 6/31

Last April, my mother passed away, and I received a beautiful calla lily. These were also my mother-in-law's favorite flower, so I really wanted to keep this one alive.

My classroom is an ideal place for me to grow plants. I have a plant that I have had since my first day of teaching, 18 years ago, and it has sat in the corner of every desk. I have peace lilies from when my dad and father-in-law passed away in 2008, and another plant I received from a student over 15 years ago.

I've been pretty successful, so I was hoping the calla lily would enjoy living in my classroom too. 

But I was wrong. It died a slow death with leaves dying one by one. I finally stopped watering it, pulled the dead leaves off, and placed it on my computer cart in the back of room, not giving it any attention.

One day, I needed some dirt, so I walked over the black pot and dug my fingers into the dried-up dirt. I felt something, so I pulled it up. Examining it closer, I realized it was a bulb with some little shoots sprouting up. 

I thought, "I haven't watered this since last fall. How could something possibly be growing in it?"

I haven't had time to research it, but I truly want this plant to grow. If you know anything about growing these lilies, I would appreciate you leaving a comment!

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Let's Go with Dragonfly 4/31

Throughout my years of teaching reading, I have told my students, "If you are reading a story and come across a name you can't pronounce, just make one up that is close to it." This helps them to move past that sticky part and focus on the events in the story. 

I even use this strategy myself. One of my classes has been reading the book, Grenade by Alan Gratz. It is a war story and is set in Okinawa. There are many Japanese names in it that I can't pronounce, so I make them up. The students see me struggle but move on.

I learned tonight that I do the same strategy but in a different situation.

Medicines!

I fill weekly pills for a relative, and he takes 10 different medicines. As I lined them up on the counter to begin dropping into morning, noon, evening, and bedtime spaces, I realized there was a new medicine that wasn't on his list.

I called my cousin, his sister, and asked her if she knew what this medicine was for.

"Can you tell me the name of it?'

"Sure...dragonfly."

"What?"

"Well, I can't pronounce it, but it kind of looks like dragonfly, so let's go that!"

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

When Your Brain Hurts at a PD 3/31

The first Tuesday of each month, we have professional development sessions. In one of our sessions today, we had to complete a self-assessment of our classroom management. I am all for reflections and self-assessments for my students and myself.

However, trying to read the packet in a room full of teachers who are talking becomes difficult for this old brain. I was having to think too much, and the talking was a distraction. I was actually thinking, "How in the world are they answering these questions with all this noise? How could they even think?"

I inconspicuously (one of our roots this week!) pressed my fingers against my ears and tried to really focus on these three sentences:

1. I provide frequent, specific, and immediate contingent acknowledgement for following classroom expectations.
2. I use multiple systems to acknowledge expected behavior (teacher reaction, individual and group contingencies).
3. I use differential reinforcement to acknowledge effort, successive approximations, and behavioral improvement.

What in the world did all this mean? How am I supposed to rate this when I don't understand it? At the end of the day, too many big words and too many distractions left me with this thought," Just mark it low, and make it a goal!"

And that's just what I did!

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Moms Can Do Anything 2/31

It's Saturday night, and I just got out of the bathtub. I am settled on the couch eating Troll jellybeans and playing a game on my phone. My son is home for the weekend and is upstairs in his room talking on his phone to his girlfriend.

I get a call, and it is him.

"Yes???"

"Are you in the living room?

"Yes???"

Can you go downstairs and get the WD40?"

"Yes??? Where would it be?

"Either on Dad's workbench or in that open cabinet."

"And why do you need that?

"My bed is squeaking, and if I move, I might not be able to find the squeak again."

I get up, go the basement, fetch the can of WD-40, and go upstairs to his room. He is lying in bed squeaking away. 

"Can you get down there and look under the bed and see if you can find where it's squeaking?"

"I can't do that! My knees won't let me. Here, let me try something."

I go over to the top of the bed and pull it away from the wall just a little. The squeak stops. I look at him and laugh, "Moms can do anything!"  And I walk back downstairs to my jellybeans.

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.