I feel micromanaged...not fun...principal basically asked for a 2nd edit of my reports...that's so inefficient...why couldn't it be over and done with in 1 edit?  Then she's asking me to give the kids certain booklets for summer work...I had already made recommendations to parents about what kinds of books can be used for math, language, etc...but now, she wanted me to give them specific books...and extra worksheets that the EA hands to me saying that the principal wanted those hand outs included...so she basically uses the principal's position to pull rank.  Then of course what am I going to say?  I don't like being micromanaged.

...oh and today, I got really upset...at parents...who instill bad parenting habits into their kids...so that the behaviour spills over into school...take for example the kid today whom I was supposed to drive to his new school for an orientation...so I'm all ready to go and he says, "No..I'm not going."  He digs his heels in...and then what?  sheesh...well...when all was said and done, he got his way and I didn't take him.  Parents...didn't do anything...sigh...forget it...he's outta here next year anyway. 

2 more days...the kids really enjoyed "Oh the places you'll go" as a graduation today.  They've always paid really close attention when I've read to them...but today, they seemed to be extra hooked.  I'm glad...now...I'm gonna write them a "good bye have a good summer letter" and then hometime!  Tomorrow we're going to the zoo zoo zoo! 

So as I was reviewing with the kids, I tell them that 1 with 3 zeros is "a thousand"...as I worked my way up to 1 million, a kid piped up and said, "the next number is 1 zillion!"..."uh...no...it's not 1 zillion" I said..."No!!!  I said 1 cillion!  with a C!!!"..."that's not a number"..."yeah it is!!!"  at this point, I wasn't going to argue about this...nor with a 9 year old...so I left that for now and made a note that I have to review place value next year...

One of my kids who has not done homework ever this year asked me, "Do I need to do homework over the summer?"  I was a bit surprised by that and asked, "Would you do it if I gave it to you?  cuz you haven't done very much homework for me anyway during the year..."...He pauses, and mutters..."No...but I might."..."Well, ok I said...just so long as I'm not wasting paper and my time photocopying if you're not going to do it..."..."I guess I can just work in my math book"...I'm doubtful he will...cuz mom has very little control of him...but who knows, he might surprise everyone around him one day....just that in the moment, I thought it was really ironic that he was asking me that...so I basically threw it back on to him as his responsibility

Today, as I was cleaning up the classroom, I was taking down posters we had made during the year around various math and language topics.  They were all written on chart paper...and as I put them into the blue bin, 1 kid wanted to take them home and put them on her wall...and the others started pulling them out and folding pirate hats with them...so far, they've been parading themselves around the school with these pirate hats with math definitions and langugage conventions written on them...haha...

Lastly, as I was teaching the kids how to play 21 (as part of the probability unit) a few of them have started saying "Hit Me!"...which has become "Hit me baby one more time"...I told them to stop that abruptly because I could just see my face plastered all over the place...But I always love playing 21 with them because there's always the kid who yells out..."I have 37!"

6 days left...

- talk about surprises...the Gr. 6 teacher comes up to me 5 minutes before the morning bell rings and tells me that he's going home sick...and needs another male teacher to teach puberty and health to the gr. 5/6 boys.  D'oh...talk about coming out of left field...

- so through all the giggling and laughing some of the questions I got..."Can someone pee out of their bum?"  "How does a baby get fed in the mom?"  "What are we doing on Wednesday?"  "Do we get to watch another video?" (they groaned when I said no)

- there have been some new kids visiting...some are squirrely...some are still shy...I'm taking bets as to how long their honeymoon period will last before the "real" them comes out...the librarian guessed 1 week...I'm guessing 3-4 days...the principal said 1-2 days.........shoooot....we'll see.

so...9 days left of school and still the fun doesn't stop...

- after a kid finishes his test, I told him to staple it and give it to me...he fiddles with the stapler...then BAM...staples his thumb...he stares at it for a second...then screams and starts literally running around the tables and desks in the room...I cut him off...grab his wrist...and hand him a staple remover...hahhaha...ok no...I walked him down to the office where we pulled it out, got him a band-aid and a magazine to read...

- other teachers being used to his screams and cries had either shut their door or just went on with their business...this kid needs to hear the story "Boy who cried wolf"

- the principal who was working behind the closed door bolted out of her office wondering if someone had died...and there she saw the kid screaming his head off...

- funny thing was that by the afternoon, the kid's thumb was fine...but he told the gym teacher that he couldn't dance for gym that day because his thumb hurt...haha...nice try...now dance!!!

- I'm getting 4 more students next year...turns out that a whole bunch of them are from the same school and actually know a few kids in my class already...hmph...the fun will start right away in September...I'm guessing the honeymoon period will last no longer than a week...the librarian guessed that the kids will kick it off right on Day 1

- report cards done!!!  woo hooo....nuff said...now I gotta go finish some IEPs...grumble grumble

9 more days!!!!