20 Things I Learned Teaching Third Grade

A few weeks ago I filed the last of my students' report cards, piled boxes of picture books and math games into my trunk, cleaned out my work mailbox, and hugged my coworkers goodbye one last time.

Having wrapped up my career as a third grade teacher, I've recently done some reflecting and thanking God for all of the things He and my 75 little people taught me the last three years. Here are the 20 most significant:

1. The Holy Spirit is the best teacher.

2. Kids know when you really like them.

3. If a teacher believes her students can do something exceptional, they will. Kids live up (or down) to the image you project onto them.

4. Kids learn more from watching a teacher model something than they do from the teacher's direct instruction about the subject.

5. "Aha!" moments happen when teachers ask questions instead of give answers.

6. One of the most important parts of a teacher's job is encouraging and re-teaching kids to imagine.

7. The spontaneous, daily teachable moments stick with kids way longer than planned lessons. It's OK to set the curriculum aside to live life with your kids.

8. If you catch a kid picking his nose, pretend you didn't see it.

9. Students who read a lot typically have bigger vocabularies and are better writers than kids who don't read much.

10. It is impossible to raise healthy, stable kids without creating and consistently reinforcing boundaries.

11. Students feel the safest and are the most motivated when their environment is very structured, and their authorities are consistent and fair.

12. It's always a wise idea to have a stash of chocolate on hand for those 7-hour days that take 14 hours to pass. :)

13. A good sense of humor is incomparably more valuable in the classroom than any educational training. And kids like to laugh with their teacher. A lot.

14. If you compliment a student publicly on his helpfulness, the rest of the class will be over-the-top helpful for the rest of the month.

15. Reality is iconoclastic. When kids begin to understand that they are loved relentlessly by the Creator of our marvelous universe, their minds become enthralled with him.

16. Poor parenting--not our educational system--is the primary reason we have so many under-performing, morally confused students.

17. A powerful way to fight our culture that devalues human life is to cultivate a culture in the classroom that celebrates life.

18. Nothing shreds a kid's soul like divorce. Nothing.

19. Kids are the best philosophers, theologians, and apologists. They haven't yet been conditioned to not think critically (because our educational system is dulling their minds); they ask probing questions and have sound logic. Never underestimate the cognitive abilities of an eight year old!

20. The goal of education is human flourishing, and the Bible is the only inerrant, infallible, tested and true handbook for successfully accomplishing this goal.

Thanks, kiddos, for three very rich years of growth and memories. I will miss you.
~Miss Jackson

© by scj

Today Made Me Smile

First thing this morning little Freddy walked up to me with little pieces of aluminum foil wrapped in his hair.  When I asked him what in the world was on his head he replied,  "It's an ancesory, Miss Jackson. That means it makes my hair look good."

A bit later one Virginia opened our morning with prayer:

"Dear Lord,
Please help us to have a good week and to have a fun summer. And if anyone is getting a cat or dog this summer, please help them to think of a cute name."

Mid-morning my students worked diligently on group projects, one of which was a creative skit.  The students performing the skit made their own sets and props.  Two of the boys wore delicate angel wings crafted from white copy paper.  The boys forgot they were wearing wings long after they had performed the skit, so I enjoyed watching their small white wings shiver and flap whenever they moved to and fro the rest of the day.  At one point, little Josh was on his hands and knees picking trash off the floor when I noticed cues for another actor in his skit written on his left wing:

Vicky slaps Pablo
Then she goes to the mall

Who knew angel wings were so useful? :)

Sometimes it's Nice to Take a Day Trip

The harder I try to keep my eyes open, the rawer they feel. There's a buzzing sensation in my lymph nodes, and they ache. Oh how they ache. My head feels too big for my neck. Like a bowling ball on a toothpick. I wish I could rest my heavy bowling ball head on my cluttered desk for a few minutes.

I'm staring out the window now, watching the moody clouds pass by quickly. Too quickly. I wish they'd just stop and hover for awhile, enjoying the raucous shouts of kids hanging from the jungle gym on our playground. I think they might like basking in Mr. Sun's warm rays and drinking in the musky scent of the earth they drenched last night. But they blow by, content to head eastward, unaware of all they're missing. Maybe their ignorance is bliss.

I think I will travel eastward with the clouds today. I'll ride away on the silvery cloud in the upper left pane of my window. She looks light and carefree. Perhaps she will whisk me off to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and I can watch her water the purple asters and the Giant Sequoia trees. Perched on my silvery chariot, I will throw pebbles into Lake Tahoe and watch the ripples surge outwards and lick the sandy shores. When shadows darken the mountaintops and the sun begins to set, my silvery cloud will swallow the dusky light and transform into a golden schooner. It will sail over the fiery orb dripping below the horizon, off into the night song of the star-spangled sky. As my schooner glides through a sea of stars, I will listen to the galaxies sing their harmonies, and I will roll over onto my back to watch them compose their celestial symphony. And then, I will drift off to sleep.

The next morning I will wake up in my bed, and I will smile as I look forward to my day, when I will listen to the gleeful shouts of children on the playground as the sun shines through the window, and the breeze carries the smell of moist earth through my cracked door.

Six Signs You're Not Getting Enough Sleep

1. You ask the car wash guy for an unscented air freshener.
2. You eat chocolate at 45 minute intervals throughout the day to keep your energy level stable.
3. You call your students "dude" because you can't remember their names.
4. You confidently explain to someone that the word "opaque" means "see through".
5. You forget you're teaching a science lesson in the middle of the lesson.

My On-Again, Off-Again Relationship With the Energizer Bunny

I'm pretty sure that last Wednesday the Energizer Bunny visited all of my students in their sleep and and gave their wind-up knobs a few extra twists.

Oh, didn't you know? All kids under the age of 14 have a tiny wind-up knob on the back of their necks. The knobs begin to disappear shortly after the kids hit high school, although boys typically keep their wind-up knobs a little longer than girls. Before high school though, the Energizer Bunny visits the kids nightly, winding their knobs so that they wake up with a plentiful energy store. Sometimes it's a pretty sweet deal; energetic kids are typically so much more eager to learn than adults. One of the downsides however, is that about mid-May the Energizer Bunny becomes ancy waiting for summer to arrive. And as we all know, anciness usually makes Energizer bunnies get a little wind-happy.

Enter: last Thursday.

All day Thursday my kids would have been plastered to the walls, hanging from the ceiling, and walking on their hands if I didn't have control over a little thing we call recess. I spent the bulk of Thursday morning wracking my brain for any trick I could use to keep my 18 little friends well-behaved. It turns out singing, juggling, miming, tap dancing, and a balance beam act are NOT effective energy-reducers.

I'm thinking of treating the Energizer Bunny to a lengthy, all-expense paid vacation to Bora Bora.

Finally, after cutting short a rather chaotic trip to the library, I had my students write sentences. While they were writing sentences I had to dash off to a meeting, leaving an aide to watch the kids. When I returned from my meeting after school, I found this:

And my favorite:

Hmmm, maybe that Energizer Bunny isn't so exasperating after all...

Life's Simple Pleasures

This morning I saw one of my students gesturing excitedly to her friend. “I just can’t wait for Friday, Erica!” I heard her exclaim. Smiling, I thought about all of the exciting things that are going to happen on Friday. Students from all grades get to skip the first part of class to go to a school-sponsored Mother’s Day breakfast with their moms, Friday afternoon is devoted to playing lots of games, and Saturday is just around the corner!

“Why are you so excited, Vicky?” I interjected, looking forward to hearing her enthuse about the day’s events. “Because, Miss Jackson. You promised us you’d wear your new Nike high tops on Friday!”

Have I mentioned lately that I love my job?

OK, So Maybe Love Isn't Blind

Today I woke up to the shocking sensation of an axe slamming full force into my head.  Ugh.  Another migraine.  I begrudgingly got ready for work and drove to school.  When I arrived, I promptly told my kids I had a migraine and pleaded with them to be as quiet as possible.  The following conversation ensued after my brief announcement:

Emily: Isn't a migraine a type of flower?

Me: No.  It's a headache that makes you feel like your brain has just split in half.

Emily: Oh.  Well, can we pray for you Miss Jackson?

Me: Yes Emily!  Thank you, I would love that.

Virginia: I want to pray!

Me: Go ahead Virginia

Virginia:  Dear Lord, please help Miss Jackson to feel better so she can come to Open House tonight.  And please help her to look better for Open House.  And help her makeup to cover up her face so that she looks prettier.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

You've gotta give 'em credit for saying it like they see it. :)

Now that's inspiration!

Several times this morning I sat down to try to write something profound or witty, but the only words that came to mind were, "watermelons, marbles, sinuses, and petri dish."  No amount of brainstorming could alter the word-flow, so I guess I've got to make-do with what I have.  Here goes.

My lymph-nodes are the size of baby watermelons.  My arms and legs feel like they are stuffed with very, very heavy marbles.  And I'm wondering if i even have sinuses anymore?  Oh the joys of working in the germ-infested petri dish we call a third grade classroom.

Perhaps when when my lymph-nodes begin to shrink I will have more inspiring bloggage.  Maybe something along the lines of, "peaches, pick-up sticks, belly buttons, and bunsen burner"...?

Just Call Me Claude Monet

Today I took my students outside to do part II of an art lesson on impressionism. I was modeling for them how to use short brush strokes to paint garden scenes. As I was painting, a little girl in the front row exclaimed, "Miss Jackson!! Your painting is even better than Claude Monet's!"
It turns out love is blind.

Mine.

Claude's

Quotes from the Little People

I've decided to try to write down the funny things my third grade students say each week.  Here is this week's fruit:

After reviewing the definition of the vocabulary word, "Blacksmith"

Miss Jackson: "You know what?  My grandpa was a blacksmith!"

Michael: [dreamily] "Did he live in a castle?"

While searching for Psalm 139 during our Bible lesson:

Paul: "Is it in first or second Psalms?"

While trying to keep the kids calm after a giant wasp flew into our classroom:

Michael: "DON'T WORRY YOU GUYS!  My dad says we're bigger than the bugs."

While looking up the world's biggest hamburger with three of my kiddos:

Miss Jackson:  "Whoa!  That thing weighs as much as I do!"

Emily: [Surprised and obviously impressed] "Wow Miss Jackson!  For a grown woman, you're doing pretty good!"  

Love is...

I had my first church solo when I was in fourth grade. I never had another solo after that. It's not that I have bad pitch, in fact my ear is pretty decent. I just don't have what you would call a pure, sonorous vocal quality. One might use the word "croak" to describe my singing voice.

Naturally, I have tried to spare friends or acquaintances any exposure to my "singing". With the exception of my third grade students, that is.

We sing together almost daily in my classroom.  Sometimes I teach them new songs, and sometimes they teach me more "hip" versions of songs we already know.

Not long ago, I was leading my class in the first verse of, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus". Feeling comfortable that their angelic little voices were drowning out mine, I sang with confidence. As I sang, I noticed Emma in the front row, singing sweetly, her brown eyes shining with admiration as she held up this little blue sticky note.  

When my other students found out what Emma's note said, they echoed her sentiment, thus reinforcing my conclusion that love is not blind.     It is deaf.  

Sleepwalking

I think working with 21 tirelessly energetic third graders has finally caught up with me. All day I felt like I was wandering from activity to activity in a semi-comatose state. Naturally, I haven't had anything remarkable to blog about lately, with the exception of my comatose state thoughts. So, loyal reader, here's a glimpse at my brain-foggy day:

1. I am tired of picking up my students' dirty snot rags. I regularly find them lying in the most absurd places.

2. I have had the harmony from the worship song "Everlasting" stuck in my head since 7:30 am. My kids have heard me sing it at least 6 times today.

3. My classroom is beginning to smell like a hamster's cage.

4. I love flannel sheets.

5. Every time I've left my classroom to go outside today, I've gotten a pebble stuck in my shoe.

6. The pebbles kept reminding me of the movie "Ever After". Consequently, when I wasn't singing the harmony to "Everlasting" today, I walked around thinking, "How can you love a pebble in your shoe?" in a shrill British accent.

7. My kids were quietly and diligently working on their essays when I was suddenly overcome with an unstoppable urge to burst out singing, "A Mighty Fortress is our God" in a loud nasally voice. About halfway through the first line my students began to look sincerely unsettled.

8. I have eaten the same thing for lunch everyday for weeks.

9. I couldn't pronounce words with the /bl/ sound today.

10. Am I the the only one whose mind runs away without warning for indefinite periods of time?

A Binder Prayer

So, it turns out my job is one of the most heart-warming, confidence-boosting jobs on the planet.

I recently spotted this on one of my student's desks.

Phonics Feast

Today I introduced my students to the adrenaline-producing, euphoria-inducing world of diphthongs. I began the lesson by asking if any of my students knew what a diphthong was. A dear, shy little boy in the front row quickly threw his hand up in the air, his eyes bright as he grunted and wiggled, trying to get me to notice him.

"Yes Johnny?" I tried to mask my surprise at his enthusiasm for this delightful topic.

"A diphthong is when you have a big ol' bowl of dip, and you dip your chip in the dip, and when you pull your chip out, there's a thong hanging from it," he gleefully announced.

Mmmmm. Forget cheese balls. The diphthong will undoubtedly be the favorite at any party.

After a good inner chuckle, I steered the discussion back toward phonics. I have to give little Johnny credit though; it turned out to be a pretty fun lesson. :)

Special Delivery

I gave one of my students a bouncy ball, the cookies from my lunch, 3 nickels, a new whistle, a box of crayons, and three sticks of gum in exchange for this ;) : 

It'll Only Get Better

The other day one of my students decided that the cake in heaven will be good.  Really good.  Even better, he declared, than Betty Crocker.  

Preach it brother.  

Ah, the Spirit of Giving

Yesterday, my students made coupon books for their parents for Christmas. They created their own coupons, gifting their parents with anything from breakfast in bed, to help in the kitchen and a sparkling clean bathroom. There were a few coupons that stood out.

"This coupon is good for a 24-hour mashash [massage]"

Or,

"Turn this coupon in and I will pretend to like your outfits from the mall for 20 days."

And my personal favorite,

"Turn this coupon in and I will do the laundry for four weeks if you pay me $10."

Oh, how I love my job. :)

More poetry from room 341

Here are a few more poems about city wildlife.  Enjoy!

The Slug

Oh no the slug

eating on that

poor sunflower.

How sad.

Oh I wish slugs

would not be pest.

Oh how dear that

the sunflower was,

not dead.  Thank

you slug that you

didn't eat the whole

thing.

Coyotes

Today I saw 

a coyote in the

big, tall, mountains.

It was as big 

as a mountain

lion.  Big, gray

and fat.

His teeth were 

scary, huge, and

rotten with spit

all over them.

His ears had

blood on them.

I was the 

one who

dfeated that

coyote because

I'm NOT a

scardy cat!

The Staring Chipmunk

By the mountain hill,

I saw a chipmunk,

non cute nor ugly.

It looked kind of

weird in a way, so I

kept my face away.

Its beady eyes where

staring at me so I

backed away.  But

I found the reason 

why that rascal stared

I had an acorn in my hand!

Oh chipmunk, what a waste

of time!

??????

I have a secret admirer.

The Vicious Squirrel

My students learned how to write non rhyming poetry today. I asked them to write a poem about some type of city wildlife. Their imagery made me chuckle. Here's one of my favorites (completely uncorrected):

Squirrel

Today I saw
a baby squirrel.
The squirrels teeth
was fricken me out
its teeth were all black.
The squirrel's head
was shining like
silver.
Its nails were
sharp like a
porcupine's thorn.