today is ________________. FRIDAY! :)

hey yall! hope you are having an amazing weekend! 

as promised, pictures of my school. 

i really wanted to post pictures of my kids, but my camera batteries died. :(

[far away. the left side near the basketball pole is where our playground is.]

[a little bit closer. sorry for the reflection of the window.]

this week has been great. it is definitely starting to get more stressful as i gain more responsibility, but i wouldn't trade it for the world. this week has most definitely been a learning experience. i worked really hard on meeting the needs of my students this week. remember when i talked about william glasser?! well - it worked pretty well. but let me tell you - it is extremely difficult to make sure each and every child has all 5 of their needs met. anyways, time for some storytelling! :)

Need for survival - [The idea behind this need is that children feel safe in their environment.] It was extremely coincidental that we had a lock-down drill this week. We practiced what would happen if our safety was threatened. Our kids had a great deal of questions about what would happen, but we had to remind them that this was just a drill - but we have to practice to insure that we know what to do is something happened. 

Need for belonging - [Children need to be involved in classroom matters, along with receiving recognition from students and teachers.] Since I've been teaching more in the classroom, I am doing my best to include each student in on the discussion. Many of my students are shy, so they don't raise their hands. Instead, I have asked that every student keep their hand down and I will call on students. Another practice that I use is when someone answers a question that most people wouldn't know, I ask that everyone clap for them! What better way to show recognition from their teacher and peers?!

Need for power - [Children need to be allowed to carry out tasks in the classroom.] There are many times during the day that I need lights turned off or on, and when that is the case I ask a student to do it. Also, we have a helper of the week who helps us do tasks around the room (i.e., taking attendance).

Need for fun - [Children need to engage in interesting activities.] While I teach, I try extremely hard to create fun little games as a way of keeping the children interested. For example, we do a handwriting worksheet every day. They also have to color a picture using specific colors for specific letters. I make them raise their crayon at me so we know which color we are supposed to be using and then we dance around with it. I was just trying to be goofy the first time I did it, but the kids absolutely love it. When I did handwriting with them on Wednesday, I forgot to tell them to dance - and they kept asking when we got to dance with our crayon. It's the little things that really help. :)

Need for freedom - [Children need to be allowed to make choices.] When students in my class finish whatever they are working on, they are allowed to pick out a book and read silently until it is time to move onto the next activity. Also, I try to allow kids to work however works best for them. When I am teaching a specific activity, I allow students to stand or sit because every student works and learns differently. 

Well there's some stories - not the best examples, but I'm working on it! :)

Being from an area completely different from my school, it is completely shocking how much these kids have experienced. I had a student come and explain to me that he was worried about whether or not his mom would be in jail when he got out of school. This little boy is in first grade - FIRST GRADE! This is not a concern that ANY student should have to worry about. A few of the other teachers and I tried to talk to him about how as much as he might be worried, he was at school to learn and he needed to do his best to concentrate while he was there. I also have students whose parents haven't been paid child support, so they come to school with a lunch consisting of cookies and soda. I cannot even imagine the pressure and struggles these kids face on a regular basis. 

Alright, I think I'm done with story time for tonight! I could go on for days, but it is so much easier to do in person!!!

-cj.

[if you don't like something - change it. if you can't change it - change the way you think about it.]