The week back from Spring Break

Here's my biggest realization from this week... 
No one ever tells you how hard it is to come back to school after spring break. Holy smokes! Whoa!! 
After fall break, I missed my kiddos and was so excited to come back.
After Thanksgiving, I was excited.
After Christmas break, I was super excited to see the kids and get back to work.
After Spring break, I could barely get out of bed, and the kids weren't behaving badly, BUT THIS WEEK WAS HARD! 

We are back in full swing though, and have lots to review before the state AIMS test in 3 weeks. We have 2 full weeks left to review and master some skills, before ANOTHER week of testing.

Our Galileo data is not horrible, but not great. We have shown a lot of growth since the pre-test, and that is great news. I love to see growth! 

On Tuesday, we spent the WHOLE day taking the PARCC field test. It was long, it was miserable, and it was rough. But, we survived. 

Wednesday, we reviewed reading skills in the morning, and then had a "Frozen" themed afternoon. We watched "Frozen", which is ADORABLE! We, then made some snow, and played with snow. We even had one group make their own "Olaf". :) It was fun to have a snow day in our classroom, even though it was 84 degrees outside! :) 

Thursday, we did science in the afternoon, and played the game "Oh Deer". I Love that I was trained in "Project Wild" at EMU. It was fun to get out and play a game outside, but they also learned about how populations are affected when there are more deer than resources, or more resources than deer. It was great to teach, learn, and play at the same time! :) 

Another thing I have learned this week, has nothing to do with the classroom. I have realize this week that it is very important to remember, as a teacher, that other teachers have different philosophies, beliefs, procedures, and feelings about how their classrooms should run. We all do things differently. We all handle things differently, and we all come from different backgrounds. We all have different experiences. BUT, we SHOULD all be here for the same reason. We should all be 100% focused on the kids, even if we go about things differently. 
I think it is important to respect that we all do things differently, but if we are all focused on the kids, and their benefits, and growth, than we should only focus on us, and our classroom. We shouldn't be concerned about other classroom issues, unless we are asked for help, or unless it directly impacts us, our kids, or the school culture. 


I am ALSO pledging to NEVER EVER EVER forget what it feels like to be a first year teacher in a new school, in a new district, and a new state. EVER. I will never treat a new teacher the way I have been treated by other teachers this school year. 

Off my soapbox, now. :)

Here are some pictures from our week back!

We made all about me boxes, which turned into a weird version of hacky-sack. :) 

Taking breaks from testing on Tuesday!! :) 

Our FROZEN snow day!! :) 

Playing "Oh Deer" outside learning about habitats, and environments and our dependency on the things we need to survive! :) 

Have a great week!

2 more weeks of review!!

~Ms. Niehaus

Keep Calm, Spring Break is only 8 hours away!

No, seriously. Spring break starts in 8 hours. EIGHT HOURS! 
I used to get so irritated when teachers would count down to breaks like this. Like I have been. Shamelessly. 
And then ... I landed my first real teaching job. 
And I GET IT! Holy smokes! 
I am checked out and ready for a week of sleep, relaxation, hiking, and a visit from my best friend! 
When I taught preschool, I thought I understood. I thought I knew what burnt out was. I thought I knew when it was time for a break. OH NO! 
This is a whole new level.
Don't get me wrong - it's just as grueling in the preschool land. But, it's different! 

The last 4 days in my classroom have not been fun. Not at all. 
I read a quote on Twitter recently asking teachers if they would want to be a student in their classroom. That really stung for me. 
I started thinking - for a long time about my classroom.
We have a lot of fun, we learn a lot, it's loud, and we move around. 
I would say it's fun. 
But lately- that hasn't been the case. At all.
 We have been preparing to test, reviewing to test, teaching to test, and taking tests. It's been BORING!
It's been HORRIBLE for ME.
I can ONLY imagine how awful it has been for their tiny little brains. 
:(

And it doesn't really get any better. 
We have spring break next week. 5 days away! :)
And then, we come back ... :-(


It's a sad face because this it what MY classroom will look like after we come back,

Monday - Normal
Tuesday - Piloting the PARCC assessment ALLLL DAYYY LONGGG

And after that, we have 13 days of classroom time which will be spent soley focusing on "fixing" skills that we didn't grasp on the Galileo test so that we can prepare for AIMS (the state test). 

And after that,
FOUR MORE DAYS OF TESTING ALL DAY LONG! (The state test- AIMS)

This terrifies me, it saddens me, it frustrates me, and it worries me. I don't want to hate coming to school, and I certainly don't want my kiddos to hate coming to school - BUT WHO LIKES COMING TO SCHOOL TO TAKE TESTS AND PRACTICE TESTS?

Raise your hand if you do --

...

that's what I thought! :( 

So, as I have been pondering these things, and preparing to not be happy (even after spring break - which is supposed to refresh you) I have decided that I am determined to find a way to make these weeks enjoyable. 

Innovation is going against "normal" and stepping out of the box. Innovation is doing things differently, even when it's scary. I define myself as a teacher, as innovative. I step out of the box. ESPECIALLY at this school, where innovation doesn't happen. So, here's to being innovative - I have an obligation to get these kids to fourth grade - that means they have to pass the state reading test. That means that I have to prepare them for that test. BUT - that doesn't mean that I have to prepare them by giving them practice test questions every day and "fixing" them. 
And ... I have no plan. But I will get there. I will find a way! 


Here are some shares from our classroom and my life this week --

I have gained A LOT of weight this school year. It has been stressful, and emotional, and over-bearing at times. But, I am determined to find a way to still be healthy and active. It's not the same, and it's not easy- but I'm making small progress. I ran the first 5K of the year this past weekend, and I'm gearing up to run an 8K this coming weekend- my longest race ever. EEK! 

The joys of living in Arizona- Spring training! So much fun, and such beautiful weather! 

I Love when my kiddos do silly things like this - they all signed this card and secretly passed it around for me, and then secretly placed it on my desk one day this week. They are the best! :) I wish they had the opportunities to truly be more creative all day long. 

More snail adventures. We did have 2 snails die this week, but they've been active with us-- even a little bit of what looks like "snail fighting"... or "playing" ... the snails did an excellent job of distracting us from the bores of testing all week! :)

So, now what?

Spring break, that's what! 

Back to being excited - because I do deserve this break, and so do the kiddos. 

And because, I can be innovative, and step away from the norm to find a way to make "review" more engaging and fun! 

Happy, Happy, Happy!! 

Stepping out of the box...

Okay, well my last post was mostly about me, and my crazy thoughts.
But, here's what's been going on in our classroom. Besides, all the crazy test prep. :)

The title of this post is "stepping out of the box" because that's what I feel like I do.. every day. I am an innovative teacher. And, someday, as I continue to master MY craft of teaching, I will be supported in my "stepping out of the box", and truly, honestly, will find my place in the world of teaching, education, and learning. I will never be a "master" teacher, because there is always room for growth, reflection, learning, and improvement, but I can certainly continue my quest to "mastery" throughout my entire career.

So...
the last few weeks, wrapped up in a few pictures! :)

I LOVE these kiddos!!

Learning about transformations in Geometry by dancing the Cha-Cha Slide! It was so much fun to get up and move and the kids were able to really learn what a slide and turn were! :) Awesome learning!! 

Making Tree Maps of 3D shapes and their attributes! :) 

We reviewed facts and opinions and persuasive writing, by making an advertisement for third grade at Cartwright Elementary! :) So much fun, and we really like talking about positives! 

Tree Maps classifying 2D and 3D shapes!!! 

Observing seeds, and starting our sprouting seeds experiment! Will we be able to sprout seeds with only water? 

Ms. Niehaus had an observation during review week- we were reviewing Multiplication properties, and facts with fact families. We had to be festive, and make fact families using properties with Pots O' Gold! :) 

My Mentor, Mr. Bustamante, participated in Read Across America day, and came to read to us! 

We were surprised to see how much our seeds started sprouting with just water!! Making observations throughout the process! 

And.. we are really sprouting. Our bean seeds look awesome, but you can see we've got some Fungus on our other seeds. We have some questions for gardeners or scientists about the black specks on the fungus, and what causes that to happen. If there are any science people reading, help us out! :) 

After observing the sprouting seeds, we were able to take a look at a bean seed, open it up and identify the three parts of a seed. It was so fun being able to see the parts instead of just naming them like we had been doing! :) 

And now ... the exciting stuff. The next part of our science kit includes land snails, and beetles! WHOA! I was totally totally shocked when they showed up and completely grossed up. The beetles are still not my favorite, but the snails are growing on me. The kids love to get them out and play with them. So, even if they stink, and poop, and eat chalk, and leave slimy mucus everywhere, they have been a great distraction, and the kiddos LOVE them! :) 

And, that takes us to the end of quarter 3. We are still reading Olivia Brophie, and Sky Island. Check it out here : Olivia Brophie 

We are so engaged in the book, and can't wait to see what happens next! :) 

I leave with a picture from #EdcampPHX which I attended earlier in the month of March! Great time with connected educators! 

Have a phenomenal week! <3