I want to be up front and say this post has nothing to do with the Basketball tournament...there, you've been warned.
This month has been absolute madness though! I can't believe March is almost over.
We had four full weeks of school this month, which we haven't had since....September. It's actually been quite nice to have consistency and routine. And even though we haven't had any long breaks to enjoy, we have had lots of fun in 2B!!!
The first week back from Feb break was literacy week. I admit to failing miserably with this! To be fair, we had little warning and a travel break right before this so I had little time to work with. No big deal, we celebrate reading all the time! Part of literacy week was "Dress as a Book Character Day" on Friday. When kids are required to wear uniforms all the time, a dress up day is pretty exciting! They spent all week talking about who they would be: "Cinderella" "Rapunzel" "Harry Potter" "Big Nate" and my favorite suggestion was Mohamed with "Captain Underpants" and then he burst into a silly giggle! What I ended up with was...
Rapunzel, Julie the cashier, Cinderella, I'm pretty she made up her character, Granny Fix-it, two Claras (from Nutcracker), Carlos from Magic School Bus (a total match for this kid!), Dragonballz or some karate kid, Harry Potter, and two soccer players.
I teamed up with other two Second Grade teachers for a group costume. We've been reading Magic Tree House books to our students so we dressed as Jack, Annie, and Morgan Le Fey.
I wore glasses (sans lenses), a ball cap, and a backpack. The glasses were a little weird but the backpack was oddly handy! It was a fun day!
The next week was Career week. Again, put together at the last minute! The kids wrote a great paragraph about what they wanted to be when they grow up and we had two parent presentations. The first presentation was about pharmaceuticals. The kids got to mix some concoction and the highlight quickly became using the gel in the unmarked container...no worries, it was vasoline. Their reactions were priceless- some were shocked by how soft their skin was others were grossed out it. The second presentation was at the very end of the day on Friday...the perfect thing to hold over their heads for excellent behavior! One of the dad's works at the US Consulate. He talked about law enforcement and brought in little police pins for all the students. They affectionately refer back to that as "the time James Bond came to the classroom."
That Friday was another dress up day and I got to see my student's futures...
Racecar driver
(although, I think his true ambition is to be Lightening McQueen)
Tarik was a business man. Honestly, he nailed the Moroccan business man look!
Horse Trainers.
This was a popular one in the second grade.
And, my personal favorite...
The Pilot.
He had a legit outfit thanks to his dad (a real pilot). I asked Omar who his dad flew for and with his signature 'Miss, are you that crazy' look he replied "people."
Well played, Omar. Well played.
In addition to the many events within the classroom we've had plenty going on outside too! I experienced the hammum for the first time. The hammum is like a spa meets the women's locker room at the Y. Disgusting amounts of dead skin are scrubbed off you in a room where other women are getting scrubbed. Needless to say, I've heard a lot of interesting hammum stories. Jo, my teacher next door, took me to a really nice private spa. The scrub down was definitely weird, but the massage afterward was totally worth it!!
After the hammum, Jo and I ventured to the International Festival. GWA hosts a festival each year to celebrate the diversity at the school. Parents volunteer and run booths that share information and food from their culture. My class helped make some jewelry and a map of Brazil. There were booths about Syria, South Korea, Switzerland, India, Spain, France, Canada, and of course Morocco and America and that's just to name a few. It was so fun to see the students showing off their cultures and to see the other students taking an interest in them.
This past Saturday, I ventured in town for some shopping, good eating, light cooking, and tv watching. There was a huge thunderstorm complete with hail! Once I got back to campus, we had the neighbor kids over a movie and watched "The Rescuers Down Under"...perfect since we are currently learning about Australia.
This week the madness continued when my great-aunt Mary and two of her friends came to Morocco to visit! They came in on Monday and I was able to introduce them to my students. Mary brought candy for them and naturally they loved her even more! They have been telling me all week I have the best family! Between letters to them from my grandma, stickers from my mom and sister, and now candy from my aunt it's no surprise they feel that way!
Other tid-bits of madness from room 205...
One of my boys wanted to show me his athletic skills by doing a somersault...instead he successfully kneed himself in the forehead. Then spent the remainder of recess lying their being silly and dramatic about it. He laughed about it later.
On Monday, my students informed me I am meaner now than I was at the beginning of the year. Today we made bar graphs using M&Ms and suddenly I am such a great teacher they are begging me to move to third grade (and then fourth and fifth....) I can't imagine what changed their minds ;)
Tomorrow will be the first full day my students have a sub. I am taking the day off to tour around with Mary and Co while they are here. Lord only knows what will be waiting for me on Friday! Oh well, I'll just let the madness continue!
This month has been absolute madness though! I can't believe March is almost over.
We had four full weeks of school this month, which we haven't had since....September. It's actually been quite nice to have consistency and routine. And even though we haven't had any long breaks to enjoy, we have had lots of fun in 2B!!!
The first week back from Feb break was literacy week. I admit to failing miserably with this! To be fair, we had little warning and a travel break right before this so I had little time to work with. No big deal, we celebrate reading all the time! Part of literacy week was "Dress as a Book Character Day" on Friday. When kids are required to wear uniforms all the time, a dress up day is pretty exciting! They spent all week talking about who they would be: "Cinderella" "Rapunzel" "Harry Potter" "Big Nate" and my favorite suggestion was Mohamed with "Captain Underpants" and then he burst into a silly giggle! What I ended up with was...
I teamed up with other two Second Grade teachers for a group costume. We've been reading Magic Tree House books to our students so we dressed as Jack, Annie, and Morgan Le Fey.
The next week was Career week. Again, put together at the last minute! The kids wrote a great paragraph about what they wanted to be when they grow up and we had two parent presentations. The first presentation was about pharmaceuticals. The kids got to mix some concoction and the highlight quickly became using the gel in the unmarked container...no worries, it was vasoline. Their reactions were priceless- some were shocked by how soft their skin was others were grossed out it. The second presentation was at the very end of the day on Friday...the perfect thing to hold over their heads for excellent behavior! One of the dad's works at the US Consulate. He talked about law enforcement and brought in little police pins for all the students. They affectionately refer back to that as "the time James Bond came to the classroom."
That Friday was another dress up day and I got to see my student's futures...
 |
Racecar driver(although, I think his true ambition is to be Lightening McQueen)
Teachers.
For the record, I have never worn a short leather shirt with fuzzy boots, or carried a bag that expensive before!
Tarik was a business man. Honestly, he nailed the Moroccan business man look!
The Doctors.
Horse Trainers.
This was a popular one in the second grade.
Vet.
Complete with barking dog.
The Pilot.
He had a legit outfit thanks to his dad (a real pilot). I asked Omar who his dad flew for and with his signature 'Miss, are you that crazy' look he replied "people."
Well played, Omar. Well played.
In addition to the many events within the classroom we've had plenty going on outside too! I experienced the hammum for the first time. The hammum is like a spa meets the women's locker room at the Y. Disgusting amounts of dead skin are scrubbed off you in a room where other women are getting scrubbed. Needless to say, I've heard a lot of interesting hammum stories. Jo, my teacher next door, took me to a really nice private spa. The scrub down was definitely weird, but the massage afterward was totally worth it!!
After the hammum, Jo and I ventured to the International Festival. GWA hosts a festival each year to celebrate the diversity at the school. Parents volunteer and run booths that share information and food from their culture. My class helped make some jewelry and a map of Brazil. There were booths about Syria, South Korea, Switzerland, India, Spain, France, Canada, and of course Morocco and America and that's just to name a few. It was so fun to see the students showing off their cultures and to see the other students taking an interest in them.
This past Saturday, I ventured in town for some shopping, good eating, light cooking, and tv watching. There was a huge thunderstorm complete with hail! Once I got back to campus, we had the neighbor kids over a movie and watched "The Rescuers Down Under"...perfect since we are currently learning about Australia.
This week the madness continued when my great-aunt Mary and two of her friends came to Morocco to visit! They came in on Monday and I was able to introduce them to my students. Mary brought candy for them and naturally they loved her even more! They have been telling me all week I have the best family! Between letters to them from my grandma, stickers from my mom and sister, and now candy from my aunt it's no surprise they feel that way!
Other tid-bits of madness from room 205...
One of my boys wanted to show me his athletic skills by doing a somersault...instead he successfully kneed himself in the forehead. Then spent the remainder of recess lying their being silly and dramatic about it. He laughed about it later.
On Monday, my students informed me I am meaner now than I was at the beginning of the year. Today we made bar graphs using M&Ms and suddenly I am such a great teacher they are begging me to move to third grade (and then fourth and fifth....) I can't imagine what changed their minds ;)
Tomorrow will be the first full day my students have a sub. I am taking the day off to tour around with Mary and Co while they are here. Lord only knows what will be waiting for me on Friday! Oh well, I'll just let the madness continue!
