Twerking 101

Good golly, I have some of the funniest kids on the planet.  Sometimes they intend to be funny, but other times they are completely oblivious.  Today I got to see a lot of both!

My Pre-AP class has finished Holes, and we are working on our end of novel projects.  I decided to let them have a little fun, and am having them use ToonDoo.com to make comic strips of certain scenes from the book.  It forces them to summarize rather than tell the story word for word.

I was honestly a little worried about starting the project today because with all of our computer issues, I just knew I'd be juggling incorrect logins and missing passwords in addition to the "I'm-raising-my-hand-because-I-like-to-hear-myself-talk" questions.  Fortunately, everything went smoothly!  

ToonDoo is an intense program with lots of options for editing characters. During the first hour of the block, I let them play around on the program to get use to it.  They were free to make whatever they wanted.  (Appropriately, of course.)  Watching them play with characters and change their bodies, faces, expressions, etc. was hilarious!  I saw some WEIRD creations.  Honestly, I think some of the kids are disturbed.  Every 30 seconds another kiddo was calling me over to look at their half baby/half demon or their incredibly fat dancing man. (Told you they were weird!)  We basically played and laughed for an hour.  I didn't think one girl was going to survive her laugh attack (inspired by a fat, pirate, demon baby)!  My favorite part of the day, however, was when I caught some girlies making some not-so-school appropriate cartoons.  I wish I could say I didn't laugh and take a picture...buuuut....I did.  Later on, I searched for them and found clear images for your viewing pleasure!

Hitler is apparently NOT a fan of twerking...

Even the Pope twerks!

Best. Day. Ever! I can't wait to show you the ACTUAL projects that they complete.  You know, the ones sans twerking.

Oh, and in case you were wondering why we have to learn to spell, I've finally nailed down the answer.

This.  This is why!

-Mrs. Combs

The M word

Sometimes the way we middle school teachers talk to kids makes me laugh.  We are trying to create responsible young adults, though we realize that we are still technically working with babies.  I have learned that the easiest way to achieve this is to phrase "hardcore" topics in baby terminology (much of this learned from other teachers!).

For example, we expect sixth graders to have some level of maturity.  If our novel has a curse word, we expect them to roll with it.  If the topics are deep, we need them handle them properly- not dramatically.  Somewhere along the line, I started referring to maturity as an object that the kids have.  "Okay kids, today you need your maturity.  Who brought theirs?" or "Alright, get your maturity out of your pocket.  We are going to use it!"  (Of course the kiddos WANT to be mature, so they don't call me out on how ridiculous I sound.)  

It is interesting to see how my classes use their maturity.  Pre-AP kids have theirs on them all the time.  They never leave it in their lockers.  My traditional English kiddos almost ALWAYS forget to bring theirs to class.  They need consistent reminders.  My 5th hour English?  Er, I don't think it was on the supply list.  I will have to add that next year.

What I love about it, is that they accept the fact that maturity is expected.  They know what it implies, even if they need reminders.  While reading our novel yesterday, a curse word did, in fact, appear.  Five wide-eyed kiddos looked at me to see what I would do.  All I needed to say was, "Oh, no worries. We brought our maturity, so we can handle this!"  They gave me big nods...almost as if to say, "Yes!  We ARE mature!"  

Another instance occurred today when I was attempting to explain the rules for Grudgeball- the world's most awesome classroom game.  When I looked around the room, I noticed that two kids had switched seats just to see what I would do. (Aren't they so clever!?)  I stopped mid-instruction and said "Ah man...I really hoped we could play today.  Unfortunately, this game requires maturity.  I see that some of us did not bring it today.  Bummer!  Looks like we will have to try again another day." Immediately, the room was silent.  The two kids swapped back, and NO ONE argued.  It was amazing.  They all just looked intensely disappointed in themselves.  (WIN! :)  

Maybe someday I'll get to play Grudgeball with that group.  I was actually really disappointed that we couldn't play!  They get so intensely competitive that they don't even realize they are learning.  Until then, I'll enjoy my FALL BREAK!

-Mrs. Combs

You're mine too, Tod

Since my last blog, our classroom's airconditioning has gone out two more times.  Seriously.  Thankfully, it hasn't taken weeks to fix as it did the first time around.  It IS frustrating not knowing whether I can wear boots and a scarf, or if I should stick to a dress and sandals though. :) #girlieteacherprobs

We have been having so much fun at Madison lately!  

On September 26, we had our yearly fundraiser, also known as the Painted Mustang Run.  It is a 5k color run for the kiddos that takes place during school hours.  On the day of the run, we basically shut down school and have a big ol' party!  I was able to go out and participate this year, and I am so glad I did!  I didn't run the 5k, but I DID get to throw color on kiddos as they ran by, which was extremely rewarding and therapeutic!  After the 5k, the party continued with inflatable games, dunk tanks, pizza, snowcones, carnival rides, the works!  My favorite part of the day was being able to just hang out.  Many of my original babies (this year's seventh graders) hung out with me and challenged me to several of the games.  It was such a messy, fun, day!  For pictures, check out this album from  Madison's Facebook page: Painted Mustang Run

Can you guess what color I threw? 

We also had a lot of fun dressing up for Homecoming this week!  Although I was gone for two of the days, I was able to participate in "Crazy Hat Day," "Professional Day," and "Decade Day" with the kids.  Decade Day was probably the most fun, even though this young lady and I accidently had matching hairdos.  Kids like her make my world go 'round! <3

You can find more goofy photos here!  (I am always very cautious about posting pictures of kids on my personal pages, but if the school has them posted, I'll gladly point you to them!)

I know I've said this before, but even though I really really really love my kids from last year, our group this year is just an easier, sweeter, group to work with.  This gives us more opportunity to have fun and try new things in class.  One thing I've started doing is allowing my Pre-AP kiddos to read outside during our MIRP time every so often.  They find a spot, get comfy, and read steadily for the entire 15-20 minutes.  (Last year, 3/4 might have read, while the other 1/4 would have dug holes or thrown dirt and bugs at eachother!)  The last time we had outdoor reading time, the cutest thing happened.  Those who follow my Facebook have already seen this picture, but it's too cute not to share again.  While all of the other students sat up against the building in rows, these buddies wanted to hang out on the grass.  It was a little chilly, so they used eachother to help stay warm.  My heart melted when I saw them!  They stayed together the entire time!

All I could think about was...

These kids make going to work easy!  Can ya tell I like 'em?  I can't wait to see them again on Monday.  Due to a Pre-AP conference, I was gone Thursday and Friday.  Being gone terrifies me because I assume they are going to push every boundary and destroy the room.  I mean, that's what WE did in school!  Not only was I gone, but I was gone for two days in a row.  In my head, that meant that the substitute would end up pulling her hair out, and books would be thrown around the room.  (Ok, so that's extreme.  I DID expect to find negative notes about several students and/or work not completed.)  When I checked out my room yesterday after the conference, I found that all of the assignments were neatly stacked on my desk with labels, the classroom was in order, and no negative notes were written at all!  I'm still in shock.  Let it be known, that on October 3, 2014, Mrs. Combs fell in love with 56 students, and found a substitute for life.  

-Mrs. Combs