Tag: first grade

Surviving Open House

On By Alicia McCauleyIn Teacher Tales, Writing Project11 Comments

Have I mentioned that I published a book with my class this year?  Oh, only 100 times?  I published a book with my class.  There.  101.

Here it is.  I love the way it turned out.  (I can say that because my kids wrote all the words and one of my all time favorite parents snapped the photos.)

Have I also mentioned that my body shuts down when I have to speak to groups of people?  In my head I know everything’s fine, that I am actually NOT going to die, but my body FREAKS OUT!!!  Sweat pours out of my armpits, knee pits, shins, neck, and head.  As my head lets the floodwaters loose, my curly hair which I have painstakingly straightened, kinks up into a tangled bird’s nest of curls.  Then my voice starts to tremble and my hands shake.  Which makes me sweat more.  Which makes me shake even more.  Which makes me sweat more.  You get the picture.  It’s horrifying.

So things like Back to School Night and Open House are nightmarish.  A full room of parents expecting me to be knowledgeable, poised and sure of myself.  Fat chance.  The sure of myself thing I’ve got down pat.  Wait, never mind.  It’s the full of myself thing I’ve got down.

Anyway, those nights have always put my nerves on red alert.  Until last night.

I have stumbled upon the secret to surviving Open House.  No wait, I stumbled on the secret to making Open House fun.  Open House and fun?  Surely those words can’t exist in the same sentence.  Hell has obviously frozen over.

Come close, I’ll let you in on the secret.

Our books arrived a week ago and all week long we’ve been giving copies to important adults.  We presented one to our foster grandma.  She cried when we gave it to her and has spent every afternoon showing it off at her senior citizens home.  We gave one to our librarian who promptly put it on display.  Our principal came down and we presented him with a copy.  He talked with us about the power of words and later that day I noticed his copy in the hands of a few higher ups.

My kids were dying to take home their very own copy, but I made them wait.  I made them wait all week, which is like 10 years in 6-year-old time.

Yesterday as they cleaned out their desks and made our room ready for company, I handed them each a copy of their book.  They put it on display with their other work.  Some kids had a few extra minutes before school let out.  Know what they wanted to do?  They wanted to sit and read their book.  Let me tell you, my heart just about burst watching pockets of kids read their book, a book they’d penned with their own hands.

At 6:00 sharp, I opened the door and a flood of students and parents and aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents rushed in.  It was great to have so many people, but I was a little confused.  Usually the extended family doesn’t make an appearance until our Spring musical.

Then it hit me, they were there because of the book.

As soon as I opened the door, kids tugged their parents by the hands over to their desks.  They bounced and squealed as they showed their parents the page they’d written.   Mothers cried.  Grandmothers bought extra copies.  Parents flocked to our photographer and thanked her for capturing such beautiful shots of their children.  Dads shook my hand and mothers embraced me.

The room buzzed with excitement the entire hour.  I walked around taking photos of the whole thing.  Even with hundreds of people packed into my little classroom, I didn’t sweat a drop.  My armpits were remarkably dry.  My hair didn’t kink even the slightest bit.

It was a beautiful night, a night when proud authors released their book to a roomful of adoring fans.  It was a launch party, first grade style, which was so much better, and so much less sweaty, than the dreaded Open House.

Poetry From Little Lips

On By Alicia McCauleyIn Poetry, Teacher TalesLeave a comment

Children have such a way with words, pairing combinations that just pulse off the page.  Their little lips seem to spill poetry.  I’m lucky enough to be a fly on the wall when they mish mash those beautiful combinations.

Poet Naomi Shihab Nye collected some of the things her son said and reads his words here in her poem “One Boy Told Me”.

You are, no doubt, scrambling for a piece of paper this very second to write down the wonders that have slipped through the lips of your son, daughter, niece, nephew, granddaughter, grandson, the kid next door, or even that funny kid in front of you in line at the post office.  Do it, grab a pencil and write it down.  Quick, before your grown-up brain forgets and instead fills up with mundane things like the grocery list.  And then share your lines or a link to them in the comments section please.  It’s National Poetry Month and we all deserve a little more poetry in our lives.

Thankful Thursday #20

On By Alicia McCauleyIn Thankful ThursdaysLeave a comment

This week I’m thankful for…

  • new shoes that feel comfortable from the first wear
  • my little one who brought his hamster, Mr. Beans, to school on his special sharing day.  The kids squealed and cheered when the boy took Mr. Beans out of his box.  Mr. Beans then spent the next hour scared stiff.  Poor Mr. Beans will never be the same!
  • another little one who brought his pet, Lilly the Tortoise, to share.  Lilly has impeccable timing and pooped just as the boy was lifting her out of her box.  The class started shrieking in horror as the poop plopped into the box.  Poor first graders will never be the same.  I on the other hand, had to stifle my giggles.  Potty humor slays me.
  • the rare bike ride where my legs feel like they could go forever
  • talking to my brothers on the phone and dreaming about a big bike adventure together.  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, except when I post pictures on my blog.  Brothers, consider yourselves warned.
  • these magical words from the pharmacist “I’ve got that on hand.  Your prescription will be ready in a few minutes.”  My sinuses thank you, kind sir.
  • the little boy in my class who wore his “I’m a Big Brother” sticker all weekend and just had to wear it to school Monday
  • the sound of my neighborhood in spring.  Children play outside, wind chimes ting-a-ting-ting on gust of barbecue scented wind.  Spring is here and not a moment too soon.
  • the fact that it’s week 20 and I still have so much to be grateful for.  I hope the same is true for you.

The Box

On By Alicia McCauleyIn Poetry, Teacher Tales4 Comments

Last week one of my little ones brought in a box and unpacked his most precious things to share with the class.

The Box

He sits in front of the class,

Feet dangling, kicking the legs of the chair.

He is never still,

Even in his sitting, there is motion.

____________________________________________________

Today is his day to bring special things.

He holds a hat box covered in faded denim,

The edges smudged with soot.

This is all I have.  It’s one of my only things that didn’t burn.

____________________________________________________
Ever so carefully he lifts the round lid

He pulls out a blue onesie,

Laying it in his open palm, rocking it back and forth in his arms

This is how my dad used to hold me.

____________________________________________________
He dangles his hospital bracelet,

Wraps it around two of his fingers,

Can you believe I was ever that little?

Yes, sweet boy, I believe you were once that small.

____________________________________________________

He lifts out a stack of greeting cards,

Searching through them until he finds the one his grandmother wrote,

Her words welcoming him to the world.

Will you help me read this one?  It’s my favorite.

____________________________________________________

He scoots over on the chair and I sit beside him.

As the first words leave my lips, he ducks his head under my arm and reads.

He knows every word by heart,

Each period a tap of his toes.

____________________________________________________

He stacks the cards into the box, folds the onesie on top

And tucks the bracelet in the sleeve before replacing the lid.

The box sits atop his desk the rest of the day.

I catch him fingering the fabric, smiling as he lifts the lid every now and again.

____________________________________________________

I can’t help but think of how we come to the earth with nothing,

And leave with nothing,

Yet we leave with so much more.

In the unpacking of his box, this little boy filled mine.

Thankful Thursday #16

On By Alicia McCauleyIn Thankful Thursdays5 Comments

This week I’m thankful for…

  • bike rides with friends
  • my new little one who wrote this in his notebook “I’m thankful for my home.”  Makes me wonder if there is a place for Thankful Thursdays in my classroom.  Hmmm…
  • my little one who wrote this about her mom “She is pretty like white, shiny milk.  She is so beautiful, I can’t believe it.  It knocks me down how much I love her.”  Her mom recently had brain surgery.  I’m pretty sure those are the kinds of words that lend speed to recovery.
  • the parents of my little ones who took time at our parent teacher conferences to thank me and tell me how much their children love being a part of our class.  Those words sink down deep and warm my heart.
  • my little girl who told me in a moment of quiet exclaimed “I love math!  No, wait-I love reading!  No, wait-I love writing!”
  • outside recess
  • outside recess.  I know I mentioned it twice.  Trust me, this week I was doubly thankful for it.
  • my husband who offered to make me dinner after a particularly rough day
  • books that are so good, I can’t put them down.  If only I could force myself to stay awake a little longer at night to read them!
  • my little one who brought in $10 of her own money to donate to our change drive for the local rescue mission.  Her mother, touched her daughter’s generosity, matched it dollar for dollar.