Half Way Point

5 weeks down and only 5 weeks to go!!

This is really starting to get more and more fun. The more control over the classroom I have the better it gets. Probably because I'm bossy and a control freak, and what's more fun than bossing around 28 eleven year olds all day long? lol. ;) Ok, so I don't boss them around.
In fact, I find that if I'm not careful they're the ones bossing me around...ok that's not entirely true either, but trust me, they would if they could. They are constantly trying to distract me and get me off topic.

But what they don't realize is that I was once a 5th grade student as well...and let's be honest, even in recent semesters I've used this tactic with teachers. :)

So I know their tricks and I won't be sucked in, unless I choose to. :) I've discovered one of their favorite things to learn is phrases in other languages. So I use that as a bribe. If at the end of the day they have done awesome I will spend a minute or two teaching them a phrase in Spanish or French to take home and teach to their parents.
I have also introduced some Spanish games my mom plays in her class, ok just one, but they love it.
I'm teaching every subject but one, and I'll pick that up next week. Wahoo. :)
My favorite subject right now is persuasive writing. I just started them as reporters for the true story of the 3 little pigs. Today they got the inside scoop from A. Wolf and on Thursday they will hear the pigs side of the story. They will pick a side and write a newspaper article basically trying to persuade readers of either the pigs story or the wolf's. Once they are edited and ready for publishing we will illustrate and hang them in the hall so they will officially be published. It's fun stuff.
It's late, and I really should be finishing up my literature book for the meeting tomorrow with the book group, and reading the first chapter of Two Tickets To Freedom, which is an amazing true story of a slave woman who dressed as a white plantation owner and bought tickets to the north for herself and her husband and their escape to England, since I'm supposed to teach a lesson on it tomorrow.
But I'll be honest, I needed a break from planning, and although I'm going to regret it at 5:30 tomorrow morning when I have to get up, right now it's needed. So I'm blogging, and listening to Glee, Little & Ashley and Ryan Innes.
Speaking of Ryan Innes if you haven't heard of him I feel bad for you. He's a local guy with an incredible talent. My sister and my good friend Broderick introduced me to him and I listen to him all the time now. His voice makes me happy. Next To You is probably my favorite song of his. It's just refreshing. Call To Arms is also good, and actually all of his stuff is fantastic.
I'm gaining weight like crazy right now, but that makes sense with the way I've been eating. I should probably reign it in, but part of me figures that once I'm done being pregnant I'll have to go back to my healthier ways and have things that I truly love (like french fries) every once in a while, so I may as well enjoy it now while I don't feel quite so guilty.
Speaking of good food, Chris and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary this weekend. It was awesome. We kicked it off by going to Cheesecake Factory, and the 60 minute wait was totally worth it! We spent the night in a hotel and then got up early and went to do a session and sealings at the Salt Lake Temple. It was awesome! I loved hearing the promises in the sealing ceremony, especially since 4 years ago I was just trying not to cry that I didn't get all of it. That night we went to P.F. Changs, also awesome and worth the 50 minute wait. Afterward we rented Redbox and went back to the hotel. Oh did I mention the first night we were squeezed into a full size bed? Never again. The second night we got bumped up to a king. Much nicer. Sunday we came home and enjoyed time with friends.
The men watched football and the women tried to talk over 6 screaming and hyper kids. They had been running all over the house when my sister went upstairs and saw it. My walls had become masterpieces. lol. They all took part in it, each taking a wall or a door and gave me some lovely new artwork. It was bound to happen sooner or later, and I'm sure Boston enjoyed every minute of it. Luckily it all came off fairly easy.
Boston also shocked me when he climbed up on our counter height chairs and then got back down as if he'd done it a million and a half times. See he's not a climber, but he saw some of the other kids doing it and after a few times of watching he popped right up there like a pro. So much for my time out chair. Oh well. Also bound to happen eventually. lol.
Wow this has turned into a beast. Sorry about that. I guess I had more to say than I thought. Thanks for the break. :)
I'm heading back to my lesson planning but I'm not so secretly wishing I could be in bed instead. Oh well. In 5 weeks! :D

Funny Moment. (To me at least.)

I'm sitting here in my classroom after having the kids to myself all day. I'm wiped out. It was a lot of fun and I had to be a big meanie sometimes, but overall I think it went pretty well.
During the last hour of the day I only have half the kids. We were going over How to Read Maps and studying a map of Florida. I was asking them certain questions and they were having to use the information given to them in the key to find the answer. At one point I decided to throw something new at them and ask them a question from a caption on the map.
Me: "What is the most important industry in Florida?"
Student A: "Tourism!"
Student B looking very confused: "What? Tourism is the most important?"
Me: "Who can tell me what tourism is?"
Student B: "Isn't that where people kill each other?"

Other students around me say things like "That's what I thought."
I realize the students are all thinking Terrorism not tourism is the most important industry in Florida. lol.
So we take a minute to clarify between tourism and terrorism as well as what a tourist is verses a terrorist. I couldn't help but giggle to myself. They are just so funny. :)