Last week was Catholic Schools Week, complete with days to appreciate families, teachers, students, and the larger community that supports each Catholic school around the world. It's a fun week with spirit days, gifts, and activities. I was overwhelmed with the amount of cards, candy, flowers, and Starbucks gift cards I received from students on the day designated by my school as teacher appreciation day.
On student appreciation day there is generally an assembly. After attempting to organize a drive in movie night that fell through, my principal was able to arrange for a Zoom interactive assembly with a local children's entertainer who calls himself the Zaniac. He put out a list of items the kids should have on hand to participate in the show: a light jacket or hoodie, a yardstick, a deck of cards, and a set of juggling balls (with a tutorial for making some out of household items). My fourth graders gave the show *glowing* reviews afterwards.
Every single one of my homeroom kids came into the building every day last week. That makes my job much easier than that of my colleagues who must deal with online students at the same time as in person students. I feel very lucky that I don't have to host a Zoom as I am teaching, and glad that none of my nine and ten year old homeroom students have to sit in front of a computer from 8:30-3:00 every day. Indeed, online learning models that mirrored the school day is why one of my students was pulled from his local public school and put in mine shortly after the school year began. There are four students in my partner teacher's homeroom that are learning online. Two of them have parents that don't feel comfortable sending them into the building, one of them is suffering from extreme anxiety, and one's parents are worried that wearing a mask and staying six feet away from others will be too much of a challenge for their child who is on the spectrum. My partner teacher and I agree that the last of these kids probably wouldn't have more trouble with masks and staying six feet away from others than the average fourth grader, and that we are up to the task of building good COVID safety habits in all of our students. But given the craziness of the world, we respect all of the different reasons families are keeping their kids at home or sending them to school
The switch to in person learning has shifted my locus of concern from the quiet kids to the ones who lack impulse control. I am no longer worrying about the student who refused to turn on audio or video and concerned that the majority of my students were happy to let one or two classmates answer every question. Now that we are in the building they are all finding their voices and raising their hands to participate. Different concerns have come to the forefront. I have spent two weeks dealing with recess problems spilling into instructional time, and continually re-teaching the rules to four square. One of my students drew blood from another during one of our first recesses.
Did you know that four square must be played underhand? Did you know that fourth graders don't really know the difference between underhand and overhand? I took screenshots of both hand positions from a video of four square rules and told the kids that raising your hand is overhand and sticking gum under a desk is underhand. The idea for the second example came from my 18 year old. Four square has taken a surprising amount of my time and energy over the past two weeks.
I was super excited to wear my Donald Duck hat, complete with tiny body hanging off the back of the oversized head on crazy hat day. When my principal saw it, he said he has the same one! I enjoyed Catholic Spirit Wear day, when I wore my Seattle U sweatshirt and one of my current fourth graders wore my old school spirit sweatshirt that I gave to her mother after leaving the school three years ago (and gaining weight.) But the best spirit day was crazy hair day. I am usually stressed by crazy hair day because I have lots of hair that I should be able to do something very crazy and fun with... it's too much pressure for me. I have great hair, but I am not great with hair. I can't even French braid. But the student teacher has a daughter who loves cosplay, and she had the best idea. It will be my go to crazy hairdo henceforth.
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