Well, I'm back. At Indianola that is. I took some time off while the kids went to camp, and oh, how I wish I could have gone, but I digress. I have less time at Indianola left than I would like, but I spent two of my last four days there this week. So until January, there won't be too many more posts. Just this one and the last one.

This week was really great, actually. I really enjoyed being there, I think the most that I ever have. I wish I had more time there, again, because now I am getting way more confident stepping up and having some time with the kids that is led by me. I guess that's how it's supposed to work, right? You get more and more and more comfortable as the time goes one. This week, I directed two activities which I will blog about here. But first things first.

MissTeacher did this great thing in the morning. She's always trying to get the kids on the rug to sit away from people that they are chatty with, and she always says (it's kind of a mantra, actually) "Sit where you can listen and learn." Well, this morning, a kid was arguing with his friend about where he should be sitting, because he knows that he talks to this friend and he gets into trouble. So MissTeacher reminds all of the kids, "Don't feel insulted if someone moves away- they're just trying to sit where they can listen and learn."

One of the very first things that we did Wednesday morning was read the children the story The Composition. I know that Storyman feels as though I shouldn't have started off the drama work by reading the story, but baby steps for me. I still haven't quite let go of the notion that the background knowledge is helpful. I mean, that's all I'm doing, right? I'm scaffolding their knowledge of governments and dictatorships to enrich the drama work. I mean, you can't make lemonade without lemons, right? Actually, I was glad in this case because not a single child knew what a dictatorship was. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, it's about a boy named Pedro who plays soccer and goes to school, and every night his parents listen to the radio. One day his friend's father is taken away to jail by some soldiers and his parents tell him it was because this man was against the dictatorship. Pedro then finds out his parents are also against the dictatorship, and wonders if he can be, too, because he's just a kid. Then a soldier shows up in his classroom and asks each of the children to write an essay on what their family does at night. Pedro writes a beautiful story about how he and his parents play chess every night and then after that he doesn't know because he goes to bed. At the end of the story, his parents share a secret smile and decide to go out and buy a chess set.

During the story, I made sure to always stop and allow for questions, which meant that it took a lot longer, but it was important. The kids had great questions and observations that I will be able to pull into the drama when we start it my last few days at the school. MissTeacher only stopped me once, at the end of the story to tell the kids that they had inferred that Pedro lied even though the author didn't specifically say that. She said that was a really easy inference, and you guys are getting really good at that.

When I asked the kids what a dictatorship was, some of the answers I got were getting closer and closer. "Is it when we start a war?" "It's when then army is the government." (I think that one is really really smart--and it came from a kid who does not ever do well academically). "People go to jail a lot."

Bugboy (the non-writer) has such a wonderful imagination. He is getting better at putting the pen to paper and getting them out, but the stories that he has in his head and so rich with detail and beautiful. He stopped me halfway through the book to say, "Maybe the father is the dictator, and he's trying to trick Pedro." I mean, of course that is not how the story goes, and I'm pretty sure he knew it too, but I could see this alternate story building in his head, and I'm going to remember that when we start the drama.

One thing that was great was that the students wanted to get into the drama right away. Starbright said, "I thought we were going to pretend, like, what if WE were in a dictatorship, what would WE do, like we did with the other stuff." They were kind of sad that we couldn't start right away (of course I was glad because it meant more planning time for me) but we had to move on to another activity. I was really happy that they remembered the last work we did though, and that it had a lasting impression.

Which leads me into Thursday, where we re-staged our tableaux so that I could take pictures and have a record of the activity (more work for my final presentations). We gave the kids 3 minutes to get into their groups and remind themselves of their poses, then we went back into audience mode and I walked around the groups, shooting photos from lots of different angles. For the most part, the kids took it really seriously and we had a lot of fun, too. I also took some copies of their writing samples from that day, and it was the first time that I got to look at them. They were pretty great, and I don't want to share them here just yet, because I am still analyzing them for myself.

Thursdays are pretty low-key, because first most of the kids are gone for choir and right before recess (which is when I leave) we have book buddies, so the kids are all sitting and reading with their buddies from the other class. But one thing that I did in the morning with the boys that I thought was pretty cool was we drew seven boxes on the rug with chalk (this was my idea, with tweaks from MissTeacher). Then I made sheets of paper with the numbers 1-9 on them. THen I made long slips that said "Ones, Tens, Hundreds, Thousands, Ten Thousands, Hundred Thousands, and Millions." I gave each boy a number and a place value, and had them get in order for me so that all their places were in the right order. Then I had them tell me how much the number they were holding was worth according to what place it was in. Afterwards I gave each boy a new place value and had them choose where in the seven spots they should stand. Then I said, "If you were a three, how much would you be worth?" We did this for about 20 minutes, until I was pretty sure everyone understood place value, and then they did a little worksheet. Only one boy is having trouble still--and MissTeacher worked with him while I checked worksheets. It's times like these that I'm really glad I will never have to teach math like this. I just can't wrap myself around how to explain something that I've always understood for the longest time.

I reviewed the last three kids this week, so that's all 26, if you look back over the blog.

Maia is about a 3 for me. She's sensitive and thoughtful and peaceful. She has clear interests, but sometimes when I watch her with her friends, she is being overshadowed by the bigger personalities a lot. She sometimes fades into the background if we're not careful.

Roswell (7) is bright, bossy, and a great teacher's helper. She knows when to socialize and when to buckle down, and she is pretty laid back, but stands up for herself when it is needed. I think she tries to "fit in" with a few girls that take advantage of her brightness and use her for answers sometimes, but I'm not sure. They all hang out together even when they're not doing work, but there's a weird group dynamic when she's involved.

Artiste (2) is the last student to review. She turns in painstakingly perfect work, but she takes FOREVER to finish things. MissTeacher has spoken to me about her, and she is decidedly gifted and perfectionistic, but she needs to add some speed to her work without losing the accuracy. She needs to become more efficient. Her work is always very well done, though.

Okay, see you in the next blog!

Well, we can see how it's goin for me (busy) because I am once again trying to put two weeks in one post. It works out for me because the kids are going to camp this next week so I won't see them at all. The last six days of being at Indianola has been really great. I'm finally trying to let go of a lot of stuff and really just having fun and enjoying myself with the kids and my cooperating teacher. My questions are getting better, I think, and I'm really starting to see some of the stuff that we are talking about in class. I only have four more days of teaching left, because I've officially hit 102.5 hours (I only need 100) for the quarter. I don't want to stop going quite yet, and I want to try out some more drama with the kids. Hopefully we'll get into something good very soon...I'm thinking, two weeks?

Last week, we had the coolest lesson ever on the first morning. Gift came in and we did "tactile algebra." The kids had a scale thing and some dice that had 1-6 on the first side and 5-10 on the next. There were also little pawns to represent our unknowns (or x's). It was awesome. The kdis were doing algebra! I was completely floored by the whole thing.

Dynamo had a few problems that day, but MissTeacher always gives him a choice. That's something that I really like. Today she said, "I hope you'll choose to listen but if you choose to leave you'll hear this at your recess."

Bugboy, the non-writer in the class, made some progress with his writing assignment today. He and I went out into the hallway, away from the distractions of the classroom, and worked on his story. The kids had to draw a map of a place and then create a story around the map. First thing I did was let him tell me the story, and when I said, "Hey, you know, write that down, what you just said. That's part of your story!" When I helped him write the way he talked, it seemed to get a lot easier for him. I think that he's put a huge separation between storytelling and writing, and I'm working to try and get him to see the correlation.

When the kids got up to share their stories, there was the usual amount of fidgeting and chatter. MissTeacher reminded them all that "You're an audience and an audience is always quiet and respectful." I liked that she put them in role, a little bit, made it seem more than just, you have to listen to this story. Instead, it was, "You are an audience." It made it seem more important.

The next day was pretty intense. We had a substitute, and she was.....not my favorite. I felt that she was working in direct opposition to the types of things that MissTeacher tries to emphasize in her classroom, like democracy, and community, and everyone's voice is important. Well, we just made it through the day, I taught a lot of the lessons because the kids seemed to respond to me and not to her. I felt at times that I might be overstepping my boundaries, but at the end of the day the sub said I had been very hepful and she was very grateful that I was there. I made sure to ask her if I had stepped on her toes at all, and she said no, that she was really glad I was there. That made me feel pretty good, because I certainly don't like to make anyone mad. The kids kind of went along with me even though they were quite vocal about their dislike for the sub. It was nice to know that they were kind of on my side. We only had one major problem for the day, and that was that What! decided to cover his hand with pink highlighter. The sub was furious and skipped PEAK to send him directly to the office to call home. He was pretty upset about this, but he seemed okay the next day.

Thursday was just a catching up day. Nothing really exciting stood out for the day, it was just relaxing and getting the kids back to normal. They were all very excited that MissTeacher was back, and I noticed a small upswing in behavior. It seemed as though they were realizing what a good thing they had...and what it could be like without her.

The next week started off badly. On Tuesday, Halloween, when I got to the school, I was in a great mood. Halloween's my favorite holiday and I was really excited to see everyone's costumes and play with them! Well, when I got to the school, MissTeacher said that she forgot that I was coming (this is sometimes frustrating for me because I have given her copies of my schedule, plus I come the same times every week...BUT, I am learning that not everyone works into my stage-manager plan and that some people are just not detail people). The kids were going to the Symphony! This was AWESOME! I was really excited about going. So we got all bundled up and went out to the front ot wait for the bus that would take us to the theatre, and the music teacher came over to me. The conversation went something like this:

Music Teacher: Oh! I didn't know you were coming today.

Me: That's right, isn't it exciting? I never get to go on field trips with the kids and they are always asking me if I coming. I didn't even know that we were doing this today.

Music Teacher: Oh. Mmmmm. Well, I have some bad news.

Me: What's that?

MT: Well, you can't go.

Me: What?

MissTeacher: What? (She was in the conversation at this point)

MT: Well, we didn't buy you a ticket and we can't let you in without one. We didn't pay for you.

Me: Oh. Well, can't I just go and buy myself a ticket?

MT: I'm afraid not. It's a school function and they're all sold out. But I'm sure you'll have a great day off!

Me: Oh, well, yeah. Bye kids! I'll see you tomorrow.

Then I proceeded to fill 3 hours until my class started. I was bored. It was boring.

Then Wednesday came, and with it a new month. It was all about November. Something really beautiful happened in the class that morning. Mathwiz, one of the boys in the class who is VERY emotional, was in the coatroom, crying. When MissTeacher found him, she pulled him to the front of the classroom and said, "Boys and Girls, I think we have a problem here. I was just in the coatroom talking to Mathwiz, who was very sad, and he thinks that everybody in the class hates him. Now, why do you think that is?" The kids listed some different reasons, like people were jealous of how smart he was, or people didn't like that he never gave kids cubes if they didn't deserve them (he watches our transitions (he's our transition marshall) and evaluates how well the class does. if they do well, we get three cubs towards a full jar for a pizza party. if we don't do well, we only get one or zero cubes). So MissTeacher said, "We don't usually stop class for this kind of thing, but I think that we all should tell him the reasons why we like him. I'll start. I like the way he..." Then all of the hands in the class went up, and almost every single child had something wonderful to say about him. I got to say something, too. When it was over, MissTeacher said, "I think you have a lot of really good traits and we always love having you in the classroom. You should be proud of you." He looked a lot better. For the rest of the day, he had a good day. I really thought it was cool the way that even though we had a jam-packed day, she still took time out of the schedule for something that was really important, and really necessary.

Some other things that I saw during the day were these. When we took our spelling tests, I was glad to see that everyone is working on the same 7 or 8 words, and then the rest of their words are ones that they are practicing at their own levels. It's a great way to make sure that everyone in the class is working to their own ability instead of a set standard. And the kids like choosing their own words that will challenge them. MissTeacher makes the kids sit back to back on the rug, not because she's afraid they'll cheat, but as she tells them, "One they get your spelling in their head--they might accidentally copy." That's a great way to put that.

Two other things that I thought were greatly phrased today were said to some boys who were having some issues throughout the day. To Mantis, who was all over the place in terms of body movement today, she said, "You're having a hard time being a good citizen in our classroom today." To Q-man, who is rushing through his work carelessly because he wants to play at his own choice of activities, she says, "You're too smart for me to let you get away with that."

Thursday was a short day, but guess what happened? We did math review for testing, and the kids had to put fractions with different denominators in order from smallest to biggest. I of course thought of Least Common Multiple, but since they weren't there yet, we drew pictures of circles, divided them into pieces, and then shaded to find out which was biggest. BUT, one girl, who is a little ahead in math, sat with me off to the side, and we learned LCM, we learned reducing fractions, and we learned how to find percent, like 4 out of 20 equals x out of 100 and you can cross mutiply and divide to find the answer. It was AWESOME. She really enjoyed learning and it made me feel great to be able to teach her. A girl who's good in math and hwo likes it too. This is what the world is getting to. It makes me hopeful for the future.

Here are the kids I wrote about this week, and my rating of how well I think I know them. I have about 5 kids left to do this for, and so you will hear the rest next time.

Pinky (1) is the quietest student in the class. She never speaks up for any reason, even to ask for help. However, her work is always carefully done and exemplary. I'd like to know more about her.

Continental (3) has a great, upbeat personality. Sometime I notice her being a little clique-y and not allowing outsiders in to play.

A-Town (7) is the teacher's helper. She always rushes to the side of MissTeacher whenever something needs to be done. I like this quality, and she is a very happy girl, but I wish that she would try and socialize with the people in the class once in a while.

Blondie (2) is pretty sweet-natured, and a very good student. I wish she would speak out more sometimes though.

BB (4) is a very creative and artistic soul, and sensitive to other's needs. She, however, does not seem to care about her schoolwork and always just carelessly rushes through it.

Foxy (3) is a gentle, friendly kid. He doesn't disrupt class outwardly, but he's very sneaky about his misbehavior. He always seem to act up when the teacher's back is turned, and he forgets that I can see him too.

Sharebear (6) is a very generous kid. She is a great sharer. I feel that sometimes she could step outside of her comfort z0ne a little though. She'll probably do that later in life, I'm guessing.

Cita (6) is extraordinarily bright an a great student. Sometimes she's a little sassy, and she seems bossy to the other girls. They don't seem to mind, yet, but I can see where it might be going from my own experience as a bossy girl.

Sparky (5) is a helpful, happy child. I can't think of anything, not one thing, that she could stand to work on. She's a little soft-spoken, but I don't see it standing in the way of her learning.

Speakeasy (7) is always accepting of others and trying to make friends. He has probelms with frustration though, and tends to give up on school work easily.

Starbright (5) has a very bubbly, positive personality. I'd like her to have more confidence in herself and her intelligence.

Mathwiz (4) is another very bright child. He has serious emotional problems though. I don't want to judge, because I'm not an expert, but he seem extremely sensitive and gets depressed and sulky very easily.

DramaQueen (6) is a very upbeat, zany girl. She never asks for help on her schoolwork when she doesn't understand though. I wish she would

Bugboy (5) is a sensitve, creative thinker. He should have more motivation for his schoolwork. He tends to wait for answers to be given, rather than formulate answers on his own.

Wired (2) is a very well-behaved, polite child. I wish he spoke up more in class.

Qman (8) is a lot of things. He is a very talented writer, much above his level, and he is very good at his schoolwork when he actually puts an effort into it. He tries to be well-behaved, and I can tell he really wants to, but he seems to take pleasure out of trying to get some of the other boys in trouble. The story always goes that he's not doing anything wrong, it's the other boys. I worry about him sometimes, but for the most part, I think he'll do fine in MissTeacher's class.

More in two weeks, when the kids come back from camp and I see them again.