Porch Pals - Get your students ready with fun stories based on real animals

Testing season is on the way!  I was having trouble finding good resources for getting my students ready for testing the Common Core standards, so I decided to create my own!

At my house, we have a lot of fun.  One of our favorite activities is to make up stories about our pets.  We have a dog and three cats who live on our back porch.  We pretend that the dog, Sergeant, is silly and naive.  Jacques the cat is a professor who is prideful and wise.  Pepe' the cat is always looking for aliens and conspiracies.  Finally, Toulouse the cat is completely wild and always tearing everything up.  Meet the Porch Pals!

My husband and I have been collaborating to write a series of passages about the Porch Pals and are writing constructed response test questions to go along with them.  There are three Porch Pals packets available for purchase in our Teachers Pay Teachers store already.  Each packet contains an original Porch Pals passage, constructed response questions, a creative response page for the story, and an essay writing prompt.  There is also a rubric included and some sample prompts for citing evidence in constructed response questions.

My students have loved reading the stories about Sergeant and Jacques (Pepe' and Toulouse will be introduced soon)!  We have used the packets in my classroom to offer the kids the chance to practice their reading comprehension skills and citing evidence in their answers!  They have also enjoyed the creative response and writing prompts!  

Check out the passages here:  

Porch Pals Story 1 Porch Pals Story 2 Porch Pals Story 3

And the Winners Are...All the Readers!

Yesterday I was so excited to escort my daughter to her first real competition, the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl!  I am happy to say that I believe Georgia is on to something really great with this reading competition!

The reading bowl is open to teams in elementary, middle, and high school.  Students read the books from the Georgia Children's Book Award Nominee list.  Their teams get ready to participate in a quiz bowl in which they will be asked questions about the books.  A few years ago I was able to volunteer as a moderator.  It was so exciting to see the kids show off their in depth knowledge of so many books!  

This year I saw the competition from a different angle, that of a parent.  My eighth grade daughter was on her school team and they went to the regional bowl.  I saw her get so nervous and excited at the same time.  I loved seeing her think deeply about her books, jump to ring the buzzer, and answer with confidence.  Below are some of the books read this year for the competition this year.

Watching the teams compete was awesome!  Some come in as quiet as can be, barely buzzing in, scoring a point or two.  Other teams come in like military units, ready to crush the competition!  The moderator would hardly get through the question before these well read soldiers were buzzing in!  And every team came in having read and reread many books to get ready for this big day!

The best part of the day for the kids by far was the award ceremony!  Every team that participated got a trophy, but the top three teams got towering trophies!  The pure joy and excitement by every student there was so thrilling!  There were fourth and fifth graders, middle schoolers, and high schoolers, yes, I said high schoolers, shouting over their victories!

I loved those high schoolers!  Man, they were cool!  There were dark and brooding boys and girls who had long since given up on the "natural look" in favor of green hair.  They were so typically "teenagery".  I had to laugh when the winning teams lost all control and swarmed the gym floor to claim their trophies!

I say, good for Helen Ruffin for recognizing the need to award and reward reading!  And good for the teachers who take on the title of coach for a READING team!  We as a society claim that we value reading and understand it's importance, but how often do we overlook reading in favor of sports?  I encourage everyone to find a way to reward readers!

I know what you are thinking, "Reading is its own reward."  Yes, I know.  And I agree.  But isn't football?  Isn't baseball?  After all, these are games.  Yet, no one would question whether they might be given trophies or rewards.  Why not acknowledge those who do what we really want them to do?  Read!

One for all...Teachers, we need to stick together!

A couple of weeks ago I took my kids to see Newsies, the latest Disney musical to travel to our area.  Let me just say, without this being a review blog, that this musical was amazing!  The stage, the dancing, the music, everything was just so full of energy and all the magic you expect from Disney!  But what was most compelling to me was the story.

If you're not familiar, the musical is based on the true story of newsboys who unionized and went on strike in 1899.  This strike eventually led to the passage of child labor laws.  Bless those brave children for having the courage to stand up for themselves and demand better treatment!

I teach in a state in which teacher's unions are not legal.  As I have no desire to lose my job or face any charges, I am in no way going to attempt to unionize any teachers.  But, I was so inspired by the solidarity and strength shown by the boys who were treated unfairly in the musical!

Teaching is the best job in the world, but also one of the most challenging.  Ask any teacher and he or she will tell you they love the students and the actual teaching, but the regulations and legislation have made the job nearly impossible!  Teachers must be expert statisticians, dynamic leaders, crackerjack curriculum writers, and technological geniuses!  All of that has nothing to do with the actual work of teaching, dealing with parents, trying to differentiate for abilities and interest.

On top of all the new items being added to teachers' plates, there are new student and teacher assessments and evaluations.  Teachers are being told that they will never reach the top level of those assessments because it would be nearly impossible to do so.  In the past two years, I have seen more teachers cry at work than ever.  More teachers are leaving than ever.  More teachers are breaking down than ever.

We can't unionize.  What can we do?  We can unite in spirit!  The only way to get through these hard times is to support one another in our strengths and weaknesses alike!  It's time to stop backbiting and competing with one another and time to start helping and defending one another!  Teachers, your best resource are the teachers across the hall from you!  Meet together, work together, plan together, pray together!

When we are a strong team we can best serve our students and parents!  No teacher can teach well who is overwhelmed with worry and burdened with the weight of the world.  It's time for us to bear one another's burdens.  Share your strengths and your weaknesses.  In this way, we will become better teachers, better wives, better mothers, better everything!

Who's Got It All Together? Not Me!

Today I took a trip to Target to get diapers and everyone's got it together.  I saw so many women who were put together from head to toe.  You'd think the Pinterest people lived in their closet, handing them sweaters, scarves, leggings, and boots, not to mention coordinating jewelry and hair pieces. When I see a woman like that, I think, "Well, they don't have three kids to care for."  Then I turn the corner and see that the woman has 6 or 7 kids, each one also perfectly groomed and looking ready for a cover shoot.

Why does it seem everyone's got it together but me?

The pictures below are of the gingerbread house my kids decorated yesterday.  Yes, yesterday...as in January 17.  The kit has been sitting on my kitchen table since probably December 1.  Since that time it's been surrounded by bags of groceries, bags of decorations, boxes of gifts, bags of candy, and just plain mess!

Each day before December 25, it was in my head to get the kids started with the house or to make some space for them, or to turn on some Christmas music, put on matching Santa sweaters, hang some holly, and then decorate the house.  Didn't happen.  The box sat there among the mess and taunted me each day.  Then New Year's Eve came, then a couple of family birthdays, then school started back.  It seems there is no break in the stream of life to have our perfect Pinterest family moment decorating the gingerbread house.

Then yesterday the kids asked if they could decorate it.  No holly, no sweaters, no carols.  Just a couple of teenagers decorating the gingerbread house on the corner of the kitchen table.  And it's awesome!!!  My boy and girl divided the house in half and each half is so different.  My son's half is so traditional, very "gingerbread house-y".  My daughter's side is made to represent different musicals (Annie's in there, so is the Sound of Music, and also Les Mis).  Two totally different decorations from two of my totally different kids.

Here's what I learned, I don't have it all together and I don't care.  Whether or not the kids had the gingerbread house on Christmas day, they still had it.  Time slips by so quickly, we can't spend time beating ourselves up over not having everything together all the time.  Give yourself a break, and give others a break, too.  Spend time getting together the things that are most important!

 

My Favorite Times, Choose Home

Today has been a great day.  It started out with a long list of items to do.  Laundry, groceries, bookstore for church supplies, new shoes for the baby, drop daughter off at birthday party, more laundry, you get the idea. 

But this day ended in my favorite of all ways.  My husband, three kids, and I spent the evening in the crowded living room of our tiny house in middle Georgia.  Husband and son were engrossed in the Spiderman 3 movie, discussing the implications of sin (Venom's costume) and how it takes over your life.  My daughter was busy telling me about the latest Studio Ghibli movie she watched.  The baby and I were on the floor exploring the new booster seat he just tried out today.

Pure Heaven.  Simply bliss.  In the great wide universe, there's no place I'd rather be.   

I've had several book ideas floating around in my head these past few years.  One of them is titled Choose Home.  What I've discovered in the past few years is that the whole world wants a piece of you.  This club only meets once a month, plus subcommittee meetings.  This practice only happens twice a week, plus one or two games.  Doctor's appointments.  Grocery stores.  It doesn't end.  

I'm not a recluse.  I love having dinner with friends and I sure love taking the kids out to the theater, zoo, or anything!  I just worry because it seems we're becoming a nation of families who don't really know one another.  I want my kids to have friends and socialize, but I want them to know me and their daddy, too.  I want them to hear our stories, our history, our thoughts about politics, religion, and education. 

I don't get to have them very long.  Eighteen or twenty years at the most.  Sounds like a lot of time, but it's not!  And the world is pecking away at those precious years, like birds snatching a couple of pieces of seeds at a time.  Just an hour.  Just one day.  Just a couple of nights.  It adds up.  We can't avoid all the distractions of this world, but every night is a choice.  Choose wisely.  Choose home.  

My Lesson Plans Turn into Scrambled Eggs...Hooray for the Yolk Breakers!

Ok...I've been teaching almost 18 years, so what I say, I say with the benefit of experience.  Good teaching, really good teaching is more like scrambled eggs than eggs Benedict.  I've had this book idea in my head for several years now - How is Good Teaching Like Scrambled Eggs?  Let me explain.

Every year, every month, every week teachers spend hours carefully planning each portion of their day in little sections.  What's going on in science this week?  Fossils.  How about social studies?  Economics.  Time to plan for Language Arts. How about contractions?

It is beautiful.

These plans look so pretty on paper.  Gourmet, even.  Standards are aligned!  Essential questions are asked!  Rigor is appropriate!  Differentiation is implemented!  It's enough to fill any teacher or administrator with joy and pride!  Much like the aforementioned eggs Benedict - perfectly timed, measured, and executed.  Absolute bliss and luxury.

Hate to burst that yolk, but good teaching, really good teaching doesn't happen like that.  It just doesn't.  Really good teaching happens when the kids are asking questions, looking for answers, and (oops!) getting things wrong!  Timmy has to share the "fossil" he found on the playground.  Is that a contraction on the poster next to the lunchroom door?  Did our class hit an economic bump in the road not having enough of everything we need?

Real teaching that sticks breaks the yolks!  It's messy!  It's not always finished minilesson to closing share in 47 minutes.  And it's not always observable by those who only "pop in" for evaluations.  Is planning necessary?  Yes.  But it's time to let go of the concept that learning is a gourmet experience.  It's more like diner food..messy, filling, and happening everywhere!  Hooray for the yolk breakers!!

Getting Students Ready for the New Year...

Well, the Christmas/New Year break is about over and school begins again for us this week. It was an awesome break, but I'm excited to get back started teaching and back in a routine!  

One thing I know after 17 years of teaching is that the kids will come back full of energy and full of stories! There is no need to try to squelch that enthusiasm for sharing their lives, instead make the most of it! Have some blank paper waiting on their desks when they arrive and a sign on the board that reads, "Welcome back! Write and draw about the best thing you did over your break!" That will get them busy working right away.

If you give them time to do this, however, be sure to give them time to share! I have a very full class this year so it takes forever to share one by one, there are remedies for this! Let the kids share in groups, share with one partner, or share just three or four a day.

This week won't just be focused on last year, though. We will also be thinking and writing about how to make 2015 our best year yet! Check out this product in our Teachers Pay Teachers store!
My Best Year Yet - A Creative New Year Packet

It's called, My Best Year Yet - A Creative New Year Packet. There are 6 sheets with some creative ideas for making resolutions. For example, the kids are asked to make resolutions for their parents and even the President of the United States! They could be used for morning work or in writing workshop to review the fundamentals of writing complete sentences!

However you decide to start back this week, just be sure to make the most of this opportunity. Kids will be busy thinking about how to become better students and full of hope for a great New Year! Enjoy your first week back!

What happens when your kids are in charge of helping you keep resolutions...

Happy New Year everyone! Thankful for another year with my family! So yesterday we made resolutions and for probably the 28th year in a row (since I was 12), I resolved to lose weight. I have a goal to lose 50 pounds by the time we go on vacation in October. This year is different, however, because I have enlisted my 13 and 15 year old to help me. This morning I woke up to find these all over my kitchen:

Well, I guess I asked for it! Maybe this strategy will help me be successful in reaching my goal, though it's certainly not a strategy I would have picked for myself! In life, in teaching, in everything, we all must remember that we are not islands. Everyone does better with some help and encouragement, even if it comes in unexpected ways! Many times at school I am stuck in a rut or wishing I were better at some sort of thing. Sometimes I feel like I'm just treading water. I should resolve to enlist the help of others to meet my goals, and we all should! As the Beatles so eloquently put it, "I get by with a little help from my friends!" Happy New Year again and remember you're not alone!