Bad Days

No I didn't have a bad day today but that was the theme for my journal. The kids had to tell me about a bad day they had or what a bad day would be like. Here are some of the bad days the kiddos shared, enjoy:

• "When you hit someone and then they throw up on your desk..."
• One kid to another "Your bad day was when you threw up corndog on the carpet..."
• To me "I had a bad day when you got me out in kickball" (got him out again today!)
• "I threw up then I wasn't feeling good and I threw up 2 more times, that was a bad day..."
• "My kindergarten teacher accidentally gave me a cookie with walnuts in it and I'm allergic..."
• From a twin "My sister didn't go to school and I didn't get to stay home and play all day..."
• From Mrs. Wrobel "When I found out I had Swine Flu!"
• "I got a bloody nose and then sneezed blood"
• "It was my dad's birthday so we couldn't go to the YMCA"
• "I drank a big orange drink too fast and threw up orange all over my dad's Mercedes"

I wish I could show you some of the pictures these kids drew, especially the ones where they threw up. Apparently puking equals a bad day I just thought it meant it was a good night. Story of Parents visit to come later on, promise!

WWE vs WWF

After seeing all of the WWE shirts in my classes and getting the John Cena "Can't see me" gesture done to me I would like to take a moment to reflect on my days as a WWF fan and see what has stayed the same and what is different. (sorry moms that read this but my old friends will love this nerdy post)

Thinking back to my days with WWF Monday night RAW I would come home from CCD just to catch Stone Cold Steve Austin slamming 2 beers and showing 2 select fingers to the crowd on his way to the ring. DX was doing some suggestive gestures and steroids were as common as they are in major league baseball. Professional Wrestling back then to me was real and to these kids it is too. I don't know exactly when it was I realized Booker T and Hulk Hogan were just really good actors but these kids feel the same way I did when I was a kid and I love it.

The WWF is now the WWE after losing a battle to the World Wildlife Federation, ouch! But it seems to be the same production a little less tame and a little more Hollywood. Here is a list of fun stuff I used to love on WWF

1. NWO and NWO Wolfpack
2. Goldberg's Winning Streak (WCW)
3. The intro songs
4. People's Elbow
5. People's Eyebrow
6. Mankind/Cactus Jack/Dude Love
7. Cage Matches/Ladder Matches/Coffin Matches/any ridiculous matches they had
8. The amazing story lines and plots
9. Kane and Undertaker's brotherhood
10. D GENERATION X!!!

Thanks for letting me vent. I hope for fans this was entertaining. Story on my parents visiting the class coming soon.

T-minus 1 week till High School

With one week till I venture off to Harborside High School I have been appreciating my time with these little kiddos. The students are on a token system and if they earn 16 they get a special treat. Usually a movie and a treat or lunch with the teacher. This time it was Root Beer Floats (one of my favorites!). I decided to pair this with a Reading Rainbow video on Milk Making. This RR video featured the great acting skills of LeVar Burton in a Canadian Tuxedo using words like "udder" and "teet" I know I'm 23 years old but something about the word "teet" will always make me laugh.

This milk video was inspired by a social studies lesson I was teaching about resources. We talked about farms and the resources of Wisconsin, when I got to cows a student decided to exclaim "Cows pee milk!" I couldn't control my laughter and he didn't make it any better by pointing to his 'you know where'. When I tried to explain udders to them they decided that meant milk came from a cow's guts. I love how 1st graders think things work. So I found the video in the library and it became another part of our Root Beer Float day! Finally the students understood that cows do not pee milk and that cows are not boys with the appropriate parts to pee milk out. Great lesson taught in 1st grade!

Kids write the darnedest things!

Quick story this morning before I head off to school. Hard to believe I only have a week left with the little kids. There are some pros and cons to 1st grade some of the things I will not miss about first grade are: tying shoes, zipping coats, blowing noses being asked to spell every word ever written and flipping kids cards (makes me sad). Some of the things I will miss are: hugs, artwork from the kids to me, the funny comments they produce, the way the don't see each other as black and white but just as friends (the world could learn a lot from first grade), and the miss spellings that produce stories like this:

Every day we do some kind of writing exercise either in a journal or a worksheet to help the students become better writers. I found these worksheets where you need to use the word the correct way. Example, using 'for and four', or 'deer and dear' the correct way. When they are done filling in the provided sentences I have them write some of their own. I was walking around and reading some of them over their shoulder when I noticed one girl's sentence said "I love beer and school!" I immediately thought "I must be a bad influence on these kids" then I realized she had flipped her "d" to a "b" a common first grade mistake which made the sentence not only hilarious but gave me a good laugh.

Hope you all have a great Friday and weekend. My friend Derek has been winning tickets off the radio/internet and this weekend I think I get to meet and greet Alice in Chains and watch the concert from backstage. Living the life!

Epic Monday

After a frustrating week today was a great way to start off a new week. All my lessons (well prepared) went well and the afternoon was just nuts! In a good/gross way. We have outdoor recess and I am all-time pitcher (to avoid complaints) I got one kicked straight back at me by Raul. This kid is gonna be a soccer star and almost smoked me in the soft tissue region but I blocked it with my knee and made a diving catch to get him out. He later told me "I didn't like that I was out but your catch was cool" Had a kid balling later because he was out at second. Ms Wrobel wasn't outside for recess and when I returned with Brady hugging my leg and crying she asked "What is the matter?" I responded "Out at second" and we had a good laugh.

Getting the kids settled down after recess is like trying to un-toast bread. But today it got quiet really fast when the mini-corn dogs from lunch made a reappearance courtesy of Maxamus! Ms Wrobel was in the back room and came out after I yelled "Ms Wrobel! Clean up aisle green!" (referring to the green square he re-decorated). Worst part was the janitor for the day was a sub and he came in with a terrified look on his face. Science lesson was a bust thanks to the clean-up effort in aisle green. Haha. Hoping for an eventful week!

Ms. Wrobel and I are decorating the room for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow night and let's just say Mr. Leprechaun is going to make an appearance!

Observed lesson nightmare

I don't know what it is about first graders but when someone new enters the room they think they are on stage or something. I had my last observed lesson in my first grade placement today (I think) and my kids were terrible! Well just the ones that normally are, I will leave out names but if you have talked to me in person you know who they are. Mr. Fillipeli who is my supervisor came in yesterday to observe a math lesson I had prepared on telling time. He showed up on time but in 1st grade we are never on time, it was snack time when he got their and I felt bad for him and not because he didn't have a snack. Snack time turned into ask Mr. Fillipeli questions time and here are some of the ones I overheard:

• How old are you?
• How long have you had a mustache?
• Are you married? I'm married to Allison...
• Are you Mr. Bax's Dad?

Poor guy, I don't think he has had much experience with 1st grade kiddos. When he saw the behavior issues I was dealing with let me know I have a gift of patience. Which must have been true that day because I had kids doing everything imaginable to be disruptive and try and get Mr. Fillipeli's attention. Everyone asked "Can I go to the bathroom?" even though they just had the opportunity during snack time. I had two girls copying each others movements and giggling to try and get attention. 1st graders have a hard time sitting on there doop-a-roo (as Mrs. Schmidt calls it) and today was extra hard, at one point I had a girl standing on her chair. She flipped her card to yellow and seemed to do a better job. Mr. Fillipeli had to leave early so we didn't get to talk much after my lesson but Ms. Wrobel and I talked about it and discussed how distracting new people in the room can be to the students.

Its hard to believe I am almost done with first grade and off to high school. The students have been discussing which one I will like better and here are some of their thoughts.

• They don't have snack time in high school
• High School kids are crazy! I see it on TV
• They don't sing songs in High School
• High School kids are big like Mr. Bax
• They don't read Junie B. Jones books in high school

I will have to say I will miss those things but most of all I will miss the things some of those kids say. I am compiling a list of great quotes from room 105 and I will be sure to post it soon. 3rd period of the Blackhawks game is about to start lets hope we see some goals.

Read Across America/Dr. Seuss Week

This week we have a short week due to Parent-Teacher confrences and it is also a special week due to Read Across America! In the wake of the Seussathon at Carthage College this weeks theme was Dr. Seuss. We did some fun activities during reading and math with Suessical themed stuff but the assembly was the highlight of my day. The custodian/mechanic/hero of the school Mr. Kevin dresses up like the Cat in the Hat and just does crazy stuff in front of a packed gym. These crazy activities included:

• Squirting the students and staff with a water gun
• Pitching snowballs to Mr. Wolf to splatter into the crowd
• Hitting tomatoes and red peppers off a T-ball tee
• A bouncy ball relay involving eggs
• Juggling water balloons and failing miserably
• Trying to walk on a tight rope between 2 chairs (with no success)
• Oh and scaring the bejesus (spell check?) out of Catera my little first grader

Right when Mr. Kevin/The Cat started his shenanigans all the kids went NUTS! It was very loud and very chaotic and next thing you know I feel something grab my leg like it was a life jacket on the Titanic. It was Catera and she was BALLING! Full out screaming, sobbing, "I wanna go home!" crying. I was laughing hysterically at this Cat in the Hat meets Freddy Kruger costume and didn't take it seriously right away. She is usually hanging on me but when I realized the extent of her fear I walked her out of the gym and back to the room to sit with Ms. Wrobel. Funniest part was we had to walk PAST the Cat to get out and when he saw me walking with her he didn't hesitate to wave at her, which caused her to almost break 4 of my fingers she was clutching onto. She stayed in the room and helped Ms. Wrobel get the Green Eggs and Ham ready. I remember staying at my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mike's once and Aunt Kathy had green eggs ready for us in the morning. It was a great surprise and most of the kids loved green eggs and ham. Other said "I do not like them Mr. Bax I am.." just kidding but it does sound cool. Well the Blackhawks are starting so I am gonna fix some dinner and watch.

Scissor Story

So in my recent absence of posts I will share some of my short funny stories I have. Here is a good one:

One of the smartest kids in my class Brady was fiddling through his art box one day and grabbed his scissors. We didn't need scissors and where he sits he is not in my direct line of sight for some reason beyond me he placed the scissors in his mouth. I got a quick glance and all I saw were scissors in his mouth and wide eyes. I gasped and made a horrified face and managed to say in a calm strict tone "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?". The scissors flew out of his mouth and the tears began to roll. I had literally thought he had cut his tongue or something but instead it was my expression that made him cry and I heard the words "I'm sorry! I will never do that again Mr. Bax" about 10 times before the end of the day.

Check back in tomorrow for a hilarious Cat in the Hat story

Busy Busy Busy

Well I knew student teaching would be busy but combine that with coaching and you have real life. It has taken me a while to get into a routine but I am getting used to it and I love it. First grade never ceases to surprise me the other day I confiscated a chap stick that was being passed around the playground and someone decided it was a good idea to give my kids pixie stix on Friday. They were bouncing off the walls except for Raul who just had dental surgery and cant have sugar (poor kid).

I have taken over teaching everything and it gets a little hectic with planning. Making sure you plan more than enough gets hard but I have been learning to utilize songs and fun activities to pass the "down time". We have been doing a plant unit in science and the kids really enjoy growing plants in cups. With math we have been working with pattern blocks and mental math. My goal is to get my kids to do their addition facts 1-10 without using their fingers to count. Some kids are very good at it and others struggle and rely on their fingers for even 3+2. We do fun activities with a projector and white boards that they enjoy. I have learned to use the "freeze" button on the projector which gives the math lesson a magical feel, although some kids peek and ruin it for the rest.

Math and Reading are really being drilled in Wisconsin schools after NCLB was in place so we spend about and hour and a half a day on both. To get some more math practice the school did a Math Olympics to go along with the winter games in Vancouver. Everyday we did some math test for fun and if the students missed zero they got a gold medal for the day, 1-3 silver medal and 4-6 bronze. Our class did really well and earned a lot of medals I was very proud of this because it was the week after I took over teaching math.

I cant believe it is already March! I have so many stories I have to post and hopefully I can categorize them and post them later this week because they are worth sharing! Trying to make spring break plans since mine doesn't start till April 1st and Carthage's is next week. (Not much of a spring break with still 6 inches of snow on the ground)