Writing Report Cards Part 2

In the midst of report card writing I am always a bit negative.  It's a big job and feels a bit overwhelming.  But the truth is that as I write comments for each child, they always make me smile...

E is a funny, kind girl who is an asset to Class 3P.
F enjoys sharing his creative stories with his classmates.
G brings a smile to his teachers and classmates each day.
It is a joy to teach V each day.

These kids are such a joy and privilege to spend my days with.  Their smiles and laughs and curiosity make each day a wonderful experience.  Even writing their report cards warms my heart and always ends with the corners of my mouth turning up.  Maybe writing reports isn't all THAT bad.

Thank goodness it's only 3 times a year...

Report cards.
I'm writing them now.  I'm grateful that my current school has trimesters instead of quarters - one less set of reports to write a year.  With 13 years of report card writing experience, you would think it gets easier, but it really doesn't.  Each child is different, each school is different, each year I teach different stuff (or so it seems with all the changes in curriculum).  And then there is always that kid (or two, or ten) who you want to be blatantly honest with and write the TRUTH straight out in that report card comment box.  But you know if you did that, you'd get fired.  Things like...

• Your kid is lazy.  
• You are a bad parent when you let your child stay up until midnight every night.
• Your kid is not smart enough to be above grade level like you want her to be.  Accept that she is average.
• Your child has anger management issues and it is obvious that he has learned it from you by the way you talk to his teachers!

During one of my "breaks" from these dreaded reports, I googled a bit and found some funny teachers out there who feel my pain...

Funny Report Card Notes from Teachers

Good luck to all the teachers writing their reports!

Laugh of the Day

While engaging in a writing conference with a child today, this was part of our conversation...

Me: So what would you like to improve at in writing?

3rd Grade Boy: I would like to make more sense in my writing.

Me: Why is making more sense your goal?

3rd Grader: Because I'm half Italian and Italians don't make sense.  I need to make sense.

Me: (Trying so hard not to laugh) Well ok.

I can never say my job is boring!  

Sweetness in an email

This is a 12 day work week.  The weekend is filled with 16 hours of a teaching conference, so it's just one of those weeks - BUSY and TIRING.  And then this pops up in my email:

Hi,Ms.P!

How are you today?

What you want to do on your weekend?

I'm going to the soccer training and sitting with P----- my brother for 4 or 5 hours on Saturday!

On Sanday I don't know what we are doing.

Have a nice weekend!

V-----

This little guy just made my day!  Maybe this class that started out driving me completely crazy will turn out to be one of my favorites.  Ahhh... the 12 day work week is for this boy!

Another Year, Another Class

It is the fifth week of school and I find myself still baring the “Mean Ms. P” fangs.  I miss my own smile.  The beginning of the year always begins with a stricter-than-usual version of myself, which pays off later when the classroom is running smoothly and learning becomes fun for everyone.  This year I have a unique group of students consisting of 75 percent only children or youngest children in the family.  With this dynamic, my cheery disposition has been set aside a bit longer than I find comfortable.  This week I found myself pulling new ideas out of my ever-increasing hat of tricks.  “Life lessons with Ms. P” was my latest invention.  Our first lesson: Doing Things You Don’t Want to Do.  Through discussion we created an anchor chart, students shared their ideas, and we wrote them down.  Some of my favorites included “it’s for your own good” and “zip it”.  After our discussion and repeatedly revisiting the chart throughout the week, as well as little notes of encouragement, I began to see progress. 

This group of children will learn and grow just like their predecessors I see in the halls each day, waving and smiling at me.  This year we will laugh, cry, have problems, solve them, get a little messy and become a team.  We will learn multiplication and reading comprehension skills.  We will write our first chapter books and jump with excitement during the Times Table Hockey Tournament.  It will be another great year.

And so I start my fourteenth year of teaching, knowing it will be special.  I will teach differently than I did the year before.  I will learn new things.  I will be exhausted and get sick.  I will have mornings I don’t want to get out of bed.  I will have nights when I dream lesson plans.  I will have a blast doing the best job in the world and “Life lessons with Ms. P” will have been worth all the extra effort.  If not, Fall Break is just around the corner.

Back to School

TESCO has teachers figured out!

Welcome back to school everyone.

Summer!

Need I say more?  Enjoy it teachers!