5 weeks

 Here is my baby at 5 weeks old.

The physical therapist said everything is going fine, and gave us 2 new stretches to do.

And...here is a letter from one of my students I worked with at school. It made me laugh very hard! :)

                        (click to enlarge)

thank you, icy hot!

The school year is wrapping up, and this end brings...lots of fun activities at work!

Yesterday was the faculty vs 6th grade softball game. I got a lot of bugging from my coworkers about having to play, even though I am really, really bad at sports! So, being the good "sport" (haha, I'm so funny) I am, I played.

The first half was good, because I was in the out-outfield, and didn't really have to do anything.

The second half was okay. I was the last to bat, and when the bat connected with the ball, I wasn't quite sure what to do. But I made it to first! Someone else, who was already on base, got out.

But, as the day wrapped up, I knew something was wrong. I couldn't bend over. I couldn't turn my body sideways.

Yes, although I am only a young 22 years old, I threw out my back. The only thing keeping me alive right now is that glorious IcyHot! Thank you, modern medicine! :)

PS - despite this entire post sounding like a giant complaint, I did actually have a lot of fun!

current pet peeves AKA things that make me go "WHAT!?!"

1. THE DOUBLE DOWN "SANDWICH" FROM KFC

What's wrong with a sandwich, you ask? The fact that it is not actually a sandwich, and is actually this:

source

Are you kidding me?! Apparently, cheese and bacon smushed between two pieces of chicken qualifies as a sandwich. Are you ASKING to die a terrible, artery clogged death? One more thing...can this even taste good? I mean, I like chicken, I like cheese, and I like bacon. But put them together, all three protein, with nothing else? It sounds disgusting to me. I'm just sayin'.

2. HAVING TO READ LANGUAGE ARTS TESTS OUTLOUD


Indeed, end of the year testing is in full swing. For the past few weeks I've been providing accommodations for ELL and Resource students at work. Don't get me wrong, it's not the reading out loud part I have a problem with. In fact, I enjoy it one hundred times more than sitting and listening to a kid read the test to me. The part I hate is when I  have to read things like this:

Which is the correct way to write sentence 13?

A. I goed to the store yesterday.

B. I did gone to the store yesterday.

C. I has went to the store yesterday.

D. I went to the store yesterday.

Seriously? It's unethical to read the questions in such a way that the student can tell what the right answer is, but unless they allow us to preview the tests and be prepared, how can I read these and not stumble over the poor grammar? Try it. Try reading this out loud without pausing because it sounds so funny. Yuck.

3. SONG LYRICS

Let me just give you a few examples, and keep in mind it's not necessarily the singer, but the lyrics I can't stand.

Example A comes from the current teenage heartthrob of the moment, Justin Bieber's song Eenie Meenie featuring Sean Kingston. This is, in fact, the opening line of the song.

She's indecisive - she can't decide.

Alright, alright. Maybe America isn't quite as bright as it could be, but seriously? Do you really need to explain indecisive? But wait! It gets better. A few lines later...

You can't make up your mind, mind, mind, mind, mind...

Okay. I didn't know what indecisive meant. I was still a little confused after you told me that she couldn't decide, but now it's all cleared up. Indecisive means that you can't make up your mind. Oh, excuse me. Your mind, mind, mind, mind, mind.

Example B I'll leave to Rob Paravonian to explain (ps if you haven't seen his Pachelbel Rant, check it out - it's hilarious). This comedic singer delves into the "deep" lyrics of the Friends theme song. If you watch this, only watch until about 1:30. The second set of lyrics he analyzes is...well...risqué. I love that word.

Of course there are many more examples. I can hardly even stand to listen to the radio these days. But, dear reader, I've decided to bore you no longer. Especially if you've actually read everything up until this point. That's commitment. :)

Thanks for letting me rant. I'm a ranter. The end.

work

Well, the hard part is over. No more tutoring for the rest of the school year. A good thing, too, since both the tutors AND the students are a little burned out.

For the rest of the year, our job will be helping with state testing. We'll mostly be reading tests out loud for those that have the option available to them. Those who are lucky enough to be Spanish speakers may even get to translate a few math and science tests for the kids.

Yay for the end of school! It's a much better time now then when I was a student. :)

spring break

I love working at an elementary school!

Spring break!

No work until the 12th!

But....I will miss those kids a lot!

spring cleaning!

Last week, Mr. Webb and I planted peas and pruned our apricot tree. This past Friday I really, really cleaned the front rooms of our house, and most of our bathroom. I don't mind spring cleaning as much as I used to. It's even a little bit...fun! *Gasp!* How dare I say cleaning is fun?

Here are some pictures of the pruning:

the capacity song

My coworker is so creative, and helped me come up with a song to help my math kids remember their capacity equivalents.

To the tune of The Addams Family


Duh duh duh duh (clap, clap),
Duh duh duh duh (clap, clap),
Duh duh duh duh,
Duh duh duh duh,
Duh duh duh duh (clap, clap).

There's 2 cups in 1 pi-int,
There's 2 pints in 1 qua-art,
There's 4 quarts in 1 gallon,
It's called capacity!

Duh duh duh duh (clap, clap),

Duh duh duh duh (clap, clap),

Duh duh duh duh,

Duh duh duh duh,

Duh duh duh duh (clap, clap).

My 3rd graders loved it!

My 6th graders...not so much. But I made them sing it anyway! :)

happy birthday

In December, we had a Christmas gift exchange at work. As a joke, one of the guys that I work with got my co-math teacher a very creepy porcelain doll.

Her birthday was a few weeks ago, so we broke out the doll and dressed it up for the occasion.

It was so funny when she walked in and saw it! We have too much fun at work.

Like tomorrow, when we'll be making cookies in math class to review measurement. :)

thank goodness for coworkers!

Yesterday at work, it was decided that I would switch back to teaching math in the afternoons instead of literacy.

I love teaching literacy. It's not as clear cut and set in stone as math. You have more freedom to have fun and enjoy making the lessons.

Math scares me. I've never enjoyed math, even though I'm good at it. I taught it in the fall for a few weeks when my coworker was gone, and that was enough for me.

But now I am back. And I have to plan a week of geometry/graphing and data lessons for next week. Needless to say, yesterday I was feeling really, really stressed.

Then, around 8, my coworker (who will be teaching math with me) called me. She wasn't stressed, because she was now getting a teaching partner. She called because both our husbands were at work until 10, and I'm guessing she knew I was pretty stressed out. So I went over to hang out at her house. We made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, mandarin orange shakes (YUM!) and watched a movie. It was so awesome, and I'm so grateful for an amazing coworker/friend who I'll hopefully being doing more stuff with in the future.

Thanks, J!

dear president obama

Two weeks ago, we were writing letters in our after school program. One of my groups wanted to write letters to President Obama.

Here is what my first grader's letter said:

Dear President Obama,

What do you eat when you get mad?

From, (student's name), 1st grade

olympics and a story

"Aw, man," were the exact words of Noelle yesterday, when the final results were in. She was in Bronze medal position with one more left to slide. And that person pushed her into 4th place. She missed the medals by about a tenth of a second. "Aw, man," is RIGHT!

But, as always, she remained positive and firm in her belief that everything happens for a reason. Noelle made everyone who was cheering for her proud!

Before they showed the skeleton competition, I was watching ice dancing. I've never really been a fan of this portion of the Olympics. Ice skating, I'll watch. Ice dancing, not so much. I remembered why last night. The compete in 4 different areas, and last night every single couple (I think there were 16) danced the exact same steps to the exact same song. That song was driving me BONKERS after the third or fourth time around. Please remember I was watching only because I didn't know when they were showing skeleton. I didn't want to miss it. Anyway, as it got closer to the end, the song only drove me more crazy! So I muted the tv and turned on my own music. I was listening to Carrie Underwood's "Undo It" song, when I looked up at the tv again. The couple on the ice was dancing perfectly to the rhythm of my song.

See ice dancing pros? You can dance to different songs!

Finally, a story. One of my 3rd graders yesterday asked me what my favorite color was. I told her it was orange. Just a few minutes later, she walked up and showed me the back of her writing journal. I read the orange crayon writing that said, "I like Mrs. Wedd." It was so cute!

thoughts

1. I know someone AMAZING! She was just on TV moments ago, in the opening ceremonies of the olympics. Noelle Pikus-Pace. She was a big influence in my life, and I'm so excited that she was able to go to the olympics this year! They showed her for a few short seconds, dancing away in the stands, with blue and red streaks in her hair.

2. I also know a funny boy at work. He's a 6th grader. Yesterday I was in a crazy mood. It was the last 15 minutes of the day, and the kids and myself were ready to go home. But, we still had to do fry phrases for 15 more minutes. So, as I was walking down the stairs in the little theater, I may or may not have sang a little bit. Just some "do-de-do-de-do's," but he thought it was funny enough to say, "Mrs. Webb, you're so AWESOME today!" I turned to look at him, and he quickly added, "as ALWAYS!" Haha!

3. Back to the olympics. Should I be capitalizing Olympics? I'm not sure. Anyway, my favorite olympic sport, hands down, is speed skating. I've always loved it. It's so fast paced and intense. Of course this year I'll be making a point to watch the skeleton competition to see Noelle, and I also love the ski aerials, where they do cool flips and stuff in the air.

4. LONG WEEKEND! Enough said there.

5. Tomorrow, Mr. Webb and I are celebrating Valentine's Day. He's going to take me out to dinner, and then we are going to see Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. CAN'T WAIT! I've been waiting for this movie to come out for a long time!

6. I want to make some hip and happenin' yet cheap home decorations. Any ideas?

kids

Sometimes (like today), I wish the kids I work with could realize that the effort they're putting (or not putting) into school now will actually matter later on in life. I want so badly to help them, but they seem like they don't even care.

How can I motivate these awesome children to reach for their potentials?

freerice.com

For the last hour and fifteen minutes of my job, I am in charge of the afternoon computer rotation. I get three different groups of kids for twenty minutes each. The first group is made up of 6th graders, the second of 4th and 5th graders, and the final of 2nd and 3rd graders. We alternate math games and literacy games every other day.

Today I was looking for some fun math games that the older kids could play. I remembered that freerice.com (if you've never visited this site, head there now!) had a few different subjects you could pick from. When the kids came in, I told them that they could either play games at multiplication.com or practice multiplication tables and donate rice to people who need it at the same time. I had thought that most of them would choose the games (which is why I gave them the option), but almost every single child chose to help feed the hungry. I explained to them a little more about what they were doing, and as they were playing, I would hear a, "I feel so good about myself," or a, "This is a really cool thing!" I was so proud of those kids, working hard to get the multiplication facts right so they could donate more rice.

And when it was time for their next rotation, none of them wanted to leave. One kid said, "If you make me leave now, your making me let people die!" They loved it so much that I'm trying to find a way to keep track of all the rice they've donated so they can see how many people they've helped to feed.