Edwards Adventures

I really enjoyed our Egyptian rotations on Thursday.  I like it when we change around our usual schedule. It is so fun to see my students mixed up into different groups. I found it so interesting to have the groups being all boy and all girl. The boy groups are so different from the girl groups, but I enjoy both so much. How do you feel about all boy classes and all girl classes? Does it make any difference to you? Do you feel you are a better learner with all of the same gender in your class? Or is it way too distracting to have all of your best buddies in your class?

Sometimes I get tired of making decisions. It’s not the big ones that drive me crazy, it’s the simple decisions. What should I make for dinner? What movie should we see? What do I want at Starbucks? Should I take the highway or the in-town streets? Then when I finally do make a decision, I second guess the decision I made. At Christmas, I got a new jacket. It was a beautiful green color, but I actually wanted purple. Or brown. So my husband and I took it back to the store. It took me thirty minutes to decide on cobalt blue. Blue? I hadn’t wanted blue. I walked out of the store with a blue jacket. Every time I  put that jacket on I ask myself if I should’ve gotten the purple or kept the green. Or what about the brown? Who cares? Why am I still debating it? So here is my new plan. I’m going to make those simple decisions, and then forget about them as I skip happily through life in my blue jacket.

Why is it that we love pictures of animals so much? It’s not just me. I gave my 76 students the choice to look at an animal slide show or not. Guess how many looked at it? You are correct. All 76. How come I don’t get that response when I post homework? Click here to see the latest Animal Photos of the Week.

Friday was an exciting day for the 5th Graders. They twirled, sang, danced, baked, marched, and welcomed the holiday season with two spectacular shows. Of course, the students were beyond excited, but so were the teachers. We love to see the students doing something new and different, and it was amazing to see all of the confidence, smiles, jokes, and talent on that stage. Naturally, on Monday, there is a little bit of the post-Nutcracker blues. What should we, as teachers, do to help our students get over these blues? Hmmmmm? Good question. They will not be excited to be back to business. Their calendar is full of tests and assignments.

I hate to be blunt but, let’s face it,  this is life. We have exciting times, and then we have those mundane times. Unlike many others, I love the routine, regular days. What many people consider to be “boring” I find to be comforting. I find comfort and peace in the known rather than the unknown. Often in these quiet, routine times we end up finding special moments. Sometimes it is the routine, monotonous, regular ole days that I find bring the most unexpected joy. When you least expect it, a friend might say something that makes you laugh, your teacher might tell you a story that fascinates you, you might be touched by a kind gesture a classmate does for you, or you might even learn something new. On those regular days, you aren’t expecting much, so the littlest things can bring you great moments.  So yes, Nutcracker is over, but that doesn’t mean that this day isn’t special as well.

During this time of year, I think of many things I’m thankful for including my family, my health, my students, and my job to name a few. But as I look around outdoors at the amazing colors in the fall leaves, I am reminded of how thankful I am for nature. The outdoors have always been important to me. Outside is where I feel the most inspired, where I am the most peaceful, and where I go to remember what is important. When I am feeling stressed or upset, a long walk is the best way to soothe my soul. When I was 10, my first grandparent died. He was the first person that I loved to die. I was really, really sad. Behind my Grandparents’ house was a field with rolling hills in it. I would ride my bike through the fields to this one special hill and sprawl out in the grass on top of it. When I was feeling especially sad and missing my Granddad, this hill made me feel so much better. I felt close to him, and I didn’t feel the same sort of sad.  As I think back on my 43 years, I realize that being outside in nature is what always makes me feel better. I don’t know why that is, but I am really thankful for it.

I love to go on the 6th Grade trip to Jekyll Island. Love it! Some people think that I’m crazy to want to camp out, in a tent, for four nights, with 53 students. But to see these students that I’ve known know for several years on an Outdoor Ed trip makes me happy. Students can be quite different on a trip than in the classroom. I enjoy discovering these differences and watching the kids learn in a nontraditional setting.

There is something about the trip that doesn’t really make me happy. Of course, I don’t like leaving my family behind, but I also really don’t like leaving my 5th Graders. My 5th Graders will have a wonderful week with their amazing substitute, but for some reason, I just don’t like to be out of touch with them for that long. I’ve grown quite fond of them! So my plan is to find a way to communicate. I will send some tweets and emails their way if I can. You never know with technology. But in case that doesn’t work, just know my 5th Graders, I will be missing you! Maybe I’ll get to come on the Jekyll trip with you next year.

Today we completed our first River Kids of the 2011-2012 school year!

Woohoo! I loved how excited the 5th Graders were to begin. Everyone remembered to wear their uniform. Yes! Several students told me how thrilled they were that today was finally here.  To be honest, the first River Kids is always a bit crazy for me. Since the new River Kids don’t know how to be a River Kid, it takes a lot of direction and instruction on my part. I was beyond thrilled at how patient my new crew was while waiting for their time to learn about their specific job. Everyone stayed extremely positive and took special care of the equipment.It is a science teacher’s dream to hear students talking about pH, DO, and macroinvertebrates. I also loved to see students working with the itouches to interview one another and the GPSs devices to locate our exact longitude and latitude. I was amazed today by how much you, as a new River Kid, have already learned.

I heard several students say this was the best day ever! Today was the hardest one and you made me very, very proud. The next ones will be even better! Welcome to River Kids!