I don’t know about you all, but October is a crazy month! We have had so many events and non-classroom things, that I am struggling to get all my curriculum done.
We started the month off with Jog-a-thon, which raised a large amount of money for our school. The money goes to pay for art classes taught by parents, music programs at every grade level, dance classes for 4th and 5th graders, a whole school gardening program, and mini-grants for teachers to purchase items for their classrooms. It is the big fundraiser of the year.
Students running at the Jog-a-thon.
Principal and Jog-a-thon Fairy getting Silly Stringed! The student reward for raising so much money!
Then we move into Safety Day which is part of Red Ribbon Week. That is an event unlike any other. We have law enforcement, firemen, border patrol, and SWAT talk to the students. But the big highlight is the Sheriff helicopter that lands at our school. After the landing, we rotate through stations represented by each of the agencies present. It takes about 2 hours. Then the helicopter takes off and we resume our normal day (or at least try to).
Sheriff Helicopter Pilot talking to students.
Among those great events, we have special assemblies for Red Ribbon Week, picture day, water day for the whole school, bus evacuation practice, CA State Shakeout drill, extra minimum days, and of course, Halloween. It seems like every few days something is going on.
Don’t get me wrong, I am very fortunate to be at school with such involved parents who make all these extras happen for our kiddos. However, as a teacher who will be doing parent conferences in two weeks and needs to have her grades done, I feel overwhelmed and I am struggling to get through my normal curriculum. I am trying very hard to make sure I am still doing guided reading, math, and writing everyday. It is hard when your weekly schedule is interrupted so much. And then, there is the students. They are so excited about each event, it feels like normalcy has left the building.
Keeping those guided reading groups going!
I just have to remind myself that these extra events are great experiences for my kiddos. Curriculum isn’t everything. A perfect example was on Safety Day. My students and two other classes were at the first station with the policemen. On the table, the policeman put out bracelets and stickers for the kids. Well, needless say students were getting every color of bracelet they had, not just one. And I caught some students trying to stick stickers to the backs of others. When we returned to class, I talked to my students about abuse of the situation (taking so many bracelets) and waste (putting stickers on other’s backs). It was a great teaching moment and my students were very receptive to what I said.
A few years ago, someone asked me if I ever ran out of curriculum to teach during a given year. I laughed and said, “I could teach every minute of the day for an entire year, and still have something I didn’t get to.” So we should be kind to ourselves- knowing we are doing our best, even when we have many obstacles in front of us.
I am remembering that, as I head into two months filled with celebrations and holidays! Have a great week and I hope you stop by again!
Karen
