Finally an update!!!!

Hi everyone! I am so sorry that it has been almost a month since my last update. I have been swamped with a lot of things going on. There has been the typical - balancing grad school with teaching a new grade level. Then there has been the fact that Kevin and my life has been turned completely upside down over the course of the last month.

Kevin was laid off from his job one month ago on Monday. He has been really fortunate to have a lot of leads and a lot of very promising interviews already. In fact, we are waiting to hear back from two very good prospects tomorrow or Friday. Fingers crossed! They are both for Account Manager positions at landscape companies. With everything going on, its just been difficult to find time or energy to update. We both believe that his being laid off was a blessing in disguise for more reasons than one, and we are looking forward to the next step in God's plan for us.

Have I told you that I love my new job in third grade? I know I have, but too bad. It is so much fun to just talk with the kids, especially during our weekly Lunch with Teacher days. I always find out interesting information about a lot of things. Last week I found out all about a girl's 5 stepdads and how her mom ran off each one. This week a boy informed me that he was "cursed" and his milk would spill if he tried to open it. I then opened it for him and it spilled all over me.

They are so clever! When I was explaining a game yesterday I told them that the winner would be the person who had the most cards at the end of the game. I was then asked if "possibly the person with the LEAST could be the winner, since it's always the same old people with the most."

I was also told this week "______ called me ________ Markuhhh and I am NOT a wiyting utensil!"

Today at recess I was walking down the long sidewalk to the door that we line up outside of to go in. A boy walked calmly past me and Kara (another teacher) and said "So, who thinks they can beat me to the door?" I took off running, heels and all, and beat him big time. Then he told me I was "pretty fast for an old lady." He then told Kara "Your little friend over there is faster than I thought." It was pretty funny!

Yesterday I had this conversation:
Student: "_____ called me the a word."
Me: "The really bad a word?"
Student: "Yes."
Me: "Like, the really short, bad a word?"
Student: "Yes! Like the one that you put on the Boggle board."
I looked over and, yep, there it was. A possible letter arrangement on the bottom or my board clearly spelled out "ass." I made a shocked face and my class erupted in laughter. A girl then said "Yeah. You should really be more careful, Mrs. White. Last week it said 'damn' but don't worry I didnt write it." Yikes. See picture:


While I'm posting pictures, check out this one of Kara, me, Emily, and Casey on mismatch day of Red Ribbon Week:


Try asking your third graders this question: "What is the hardest mineral?" Guaranteed you will get answers like "rock" and "metal." At least I did.

Speaking of science, though, we had our first science benchmark test today (my first ever; we didn't take them in first grade). You wouldn't believe the stuff third graders are tested on - all kinds of measurement and facts about the sun and planets, renewable/unrenewable/inexhaustable resources, and even Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness! My kids really did their best, and EVERY single one of them passed it! In fact, my class average was a 91. I am so proud of them.

This afternoon, we also took a math test. EVERY single one of my kids passed that, too, and the class average was an 88! The test was difficult because it was problem solving. There were a lot of two-step problems, extra information problems, tables, etc. The math (after they figure out how to set up the equations) was three digit addition and subtraction with regrouping. There were also a LOT of critical, higher-order thinking questions. Again, I was so proud of them! We ended the day with a little bit of an extended recess as a reward for their hard work during almost four hours of testing today.

Reading is looking up, too. On our Scholastic Reading Inventory last week I had several students increase their scores significantly from the test in September. In fact, two kids raised their scores 300 points and another raised her score 350 points! It's really starting to come together.

Kevin and I are just sitting on the couch, trying to catch up on some shows we have on DVR. A minute ago he said "I didn't VISUALLY see it..." I teased him and asked him if he auditorily saw it, or if he tactilely saw it. Annoyed, he said "Speaking of TACT, you have none." Haha

This post has definitely been disorganized, so I apologize. I'll write again soon, at least sooner than a month from now! I'm going to go spend some time with my hubby now :)