Just Doing My Thing!!!

So this summer I had the privilege to teach ESY....Extended School Year...aka...Summer School. It's been a great experience and has opened my eyes to my profession. Most of the kids who attend ESY are the hardest of the hard. They have all sorts of behaviors and are really severe special ed kids. Which is quite a bit different than what I deal with during the school year. I was paired up with another teacher and we had 3 aides with a class of 10 kids. Yeah, I know what you're thinking a 2:1 ratio??? Wow how easy... well it was a very busy class and we needed every single hand in that room. Almost all of the kids were autistic, ages 5-7, half of them were non-verbal and 4-5 of them were still in diapers. A few of these kids really grew on me and were darling, one little boy was hilarious and so imaginative. He was fascinated by knights, castles, and dragons etc. and would pretend and have random conversations with himself about all these things. One day we were doing our bathroom schedule before we took them outside for recess. Well, he went to the bathroom two different times. Once in the hallway bathrooms and once in the classroom bathroom. Then we walked outside. Another adorable child, aka our little runner, decided to take off and I went chasing after him. When I brought him back to the playground I looked over to see this first kiddo with his pants around his ankles going to the bathroom for the 3rd time! I just had to laugh and tried to gain some exposure as I walked over to talk to him. He looked at me so innocent and told me he was "just doing my thing" I tried to explain to him that's why we go to the bathroom BEFORE we come outside....anyways, I don't know how much he really understood. But I will forever have this visual image of a cute little behind, with pants around his ankles, in the corner of the playground "doing his thing".

Girls aren't the only ones!

For those who say that girls are emotional...I beg to differ!
Come take a step into my classroom , well at least the past month or so. All of my kids, especially my boys have been incredibly emotional. I don't know why. Maybe we're all ready for some warmer weather and to get outside a bit. (I know I am!) And yet sometimes in the midst of my frustrations and I want to grab the little kiddos by the shoulders and yell, instead I just look over to my aides and just start to laugh (which I'll admit doesn't help the situation of a child who is kicking and screaming... but what else can you do)

• One little boy refused to do anything one day. His way of rebelling was to cover his eyes while saying the pledge.
  
• Another boy is always pretending he is asleep (he thinks this is a smart little trick to get out of doing stuff) He'll lay his head on his desk and close his eyes. Then just to make it a little more 'believable' he pretends to snore every now and then.
• Yet another little one.....again a boy.... I swear has a melt down after melt down after melt down. It doesn't matter who he's working with, what we're doing (even if it's a fun art project) or what time of the day it is. It's getting very old and not very funny (can you tell I'm losing my patience?)
• At lunch the other day I had my 3rd grade boy come running into my room crying because someone in the lunchroom looked at him wrong. Really? I can see a few of my girls doing this, but a boy?
• Then another one's mom forgot to pack something for lunch. Once again the tears.

I really could go on and share a few more examples, but I think you get the picture. I've never seen so many tears in such a short amount of time and all from the boys in my classroom. I don't quite know what to say or do about it. I've gone through a lot of tissue and tried to clam the issues at hand. It seems like this is an endless job.

A Very Observant Child

For being so low,  I'm surprised at how observant one of my little kiddos is. She is one of my hardest kids. She has a really high IQ, but is about 2 years behind academically. She is very emotional, ADHD and socially backwards in many different ways.  She is so impulsive and doesn't realized her actions (which makes consequences and discipline a nightmare). She will always have a place in my heart and my class is completely different when she is absent. It's almost weird. Anyways, she always brings a smile to my face during the day. Here are just a few snippets of the funny things she says.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
M: Mrs. Holden? Do you know what the dentist says?
Me: Does he tell you to keep your teeth healthy?
M: Of course he does! Don't you listen? Your teeth are yellow! You need to brush and floss your teeth to get all the bugs off...EVERYDAY!
Me: (Thanks for the tip!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***FYI one of the major things we've been working on is ways to show some you like them appropriately. She will latch on for a hug and squeeze so tight and never let go! Teachers, kids, strange people she doesn't know... it makes no difference.

M: Mrs. Holden- you're number one in my book....I love you!  (giving me the biggest hug ever)
Me: Thank you M---- that is so nice of you to tell me that! You are a sweet heart! (me trying to pry her arms off of me)
M: I wish I could take you home with me. You're my favorite teacher.  (still hugging)
Me: That would be fun wouldn't it!!! :) (still trying to get untangled from her long and strong hug) M--- remember to use your words to show someone you like them and not your actions....

M: But Mrs. Holden...I don't like you....I LOVE you! I can't just use words for that. I HAVE to show by hugging you. 'Love' is a lot more than 'Like'
Me: You're right, but we can't hug teachers like that. (a idea popped into my head, that i should have thought of a long time ago) Let's just give them a pinkie hug.

She thought that was cool and told me it was our new secret sign. I went along with the idea and now she'll run to me with open arms, like she's going to give me a huge hug and the stop and giggle and hold out her pinkie....we're making progress!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 I sent M-- to the bathroom and she seemed to have been gone for a while. So, I poked my head out the door to see if I could see her coming back. I did not. I told my aides I was going to search for her. My classroom is down the hall and around the corner from the 1st grade bathroom. So who knows what distracted her along the way or where she wondered off to.  I didn't have to go far before I could hear my sweet little M--. She was singing at the top of her lungs and must have loved how her voice would carry and echo in those pink-tiled bathrooms.  I couldn't believe it really could be her. But sure enough, I soon as I stepped into the bathroom and she realized what she was doing. She got this really embarrassed look on her face and told me she hadn't even used the bathroom yet. Who knew how distracted you could get with a mirror, a song in your head and a bathroom that makes you sound like a star.

President Obama

So this month I got a few new students. It's been fun to get to know them. One of which I have to really watch and make sure she eats her lunch because of health reasons. Most of the time she brings back her lunchbox and I have her finish her lunch in the classroom, as I eat mine. We've had some interesting chats over lunch and today's little chat I'd have to say tops them all.

She started to tell me about how her family likes to watch President Obama on the T.V. (I'm thinking to myself .....her family likes our current president and must be on T.V. quite often for her to know who he is). But then she started talking about how sometimes he comes on T.V. on Saturdays and when that happens she doesn't have to go to church. She also mentioned how she loves to listen to President Obama, because they get to play bingo with smarties. I started to think and put it all together. It sounded a lot like general conference to me... and sure enough it was. When situations like this arise, I try to ask a few questions just to see what the little kiddos will say. It always makes me laugh. This is pretty much what I learned over lunch.

• In Primary they learn about President Obama and the other men.....(I'm guess they're also known as apostles)
• President Obama tell us to be nice and help other people
• She can't wait until General Conference comes again so she doesn't have to go to church.

I'm learning so much in my job! And don't worry....when I finished getting a laugh, I clarified that President Obama was president of our country and President Monson is president of our church.

Just Mountain Dew...

So I have a little boy who's in 4th grade and functioning on a kindergarten level. Sadly to say he's a lot like his father, nice people just not really all the way there. As we were taking a bathroom break the other day, he was the first one done and waiting in the hall. Out of the blue he mentioned to me, that when he was little his dad gave him coffee and he didn't like it. But when he was a baby his dad gave him beer, and he can't remember what that tasted like. Except when he got older and started talking he stopped giving him beer. Now his dad "just gives him Mountain Dew" and it's his favorite drink in the whole world. Needless to say... I was speechless.

The Poison Apple

So this year for Halloween I decided to dress up as Snow White. I kept it a secret from all of my kids when they asked me what I was going to be. So it was a lot of fun to see their reactions when I picked them up from the bus that morning. All of my little girls were so excited that I was a princess, especially the one who came as Cinderella. It was so cute to see their reaction. Needless to say, the morning was crazy with a parade and playing a few Halloween games. After lunch my kids came in from recess and I was still finishing the last part of my lunch. As I was eating an apple and getting them all settled, one of my little, more verbal, kiddos looked at me with a shocked face and said...

"Mrs. Holden! Have you not seen the movie? Do you not know what an apple will do to you? Why are you eating a poison apple? It will kill you!"

I just had to laugh. What a smart little girl. I was actually really impressed that she made that kind of connection. It took a little while for all of my other kids to realize what she had said and we all had a really good laugh!

Beware of the Flu Season

So we've had quite the start to the "FLU SEASON" around the school. We've had so many teachers and students who've been out sick. There's been more and more kids at my school who've had to stay home, because they are sick with the swine flu and other things. With that in mind, we've also talked a lot to the kids about germs, how they spread and what we can do to prevent ourselves from getting sick. I am becoming more of a germ nazi...especially since I've been sick myself. I have the kids wipe down everything (desks, tables, door handles, drinking fountains and/or anything they've touch) twice a week with Clorax wipes. Also, we have a huge bottle of Germ-X right by the door and they use it each time they enter. Now that you have the background. This story hopefully will make you smile a little more. I was working with one of my 2nd graders on her letter names and sounds. She was drawing a picture for the letter "P". This time the word "pig" popped into her head! She was very content and serious with her pink crayon in hand when we had this little conversation....
S:Pigs are pink
Me: You're right they are pink
S: Pigs can kill you
Me: What do you mean they can kill you? Where did you hear that?
S: Everywhere....Pigs make you so sick that sometimes you can die. I don't want any germs from a pig! Right?

I did everything I could to not burst out in laughter. I guess the kids are learning something even though it's not their ABC's

Saying Goodbye ... Again

With another school year come and gone, I always hate saying goodbye. I've realized over the years that the people you teach with become like "family"...because you spend a lot of time together. Then when the summer months come life changes and you're busy with so many other things that have been put on hold during the school year.

This year, I didn't think that saying goodbye would be too difficult, because I've only been at my school for a year...but it was. There were a few teachers that I'll really miss working with and have really learned a lot from them. Most of my students were darling and I've loved working with them this year. I was sad that I couldn't be their teacher again and see them grow year after year.

I'm really going to miss working with one student in particular..."Jonah" I've mentioned him before. He said some darling things the last few weeks of school that really tore my heart. I just wanted to share a few...

While packing a bunch of boxes and de-junking stuff. Jonah would question why I was throwing stuff away. So I asked him if he wanted anything (He loves to rummage through trash and make "recycled projects") He pulled a few things out of the garbage can and made a one-of-a-kind project. Then he turned to me and said. "Mrs. Holden this is for you! Will you keep it so you won't forget me when you go to your other school?"

Almost everyday for the last two weeks of school he would say "I don't know if I've told you this or not....but I'm really going to miss you next year. If I move to a new school, I want to go to your new school."

I told him to come down to my classroom and say goodbye on the last day of school. He ran into my room the last 20 min of the crazy day and just started pacing the room, just a little of the autism coming out. We chatted a bit about his summer plans and then he turned to me and said...

"Why do you have to go Mrs. Holden? You know when I'm really going to miss someone, I get this big lump in my throat. And it's really big right now." I told him that I'd be checking in on him next year and to remember me when he becomes famous one day"

All I have to say is WOW this little kiddo just needs someone to care about him. I honestly can say I don't think I've given him any more/less attention than any other kiddo I've taught over the years. But somehow he just needed someone to help him show his brilliant mind in different ways. I guess that's my job in a nutshell.

Woogi World

My dear little friend "Jonah" and I have gotten to know each other quite well this past year and I've become his little advocate at this school. He can be quite a handful sometimes, but I seem to have a good rapport with him and he actually works pretty well for me. He has Asperger's Syndrome. Actually there are a few of them at the school that I work with but this one is worth mentioning. What is Asperger's Syndrome? It is an autism spectrum disorder that differs from autism in that the child will be more verbal, and retain more cognitive development than the average autistic child. A good book to read about Asperger's is Look Me In the Eye by John Elder Robison, 2nd ed. So back to my story....

The kiddo I work with really struggles with social skills and doesn't have many friends. However, he is one of the brightest kids I know...I guess that doesn't take much being a resource teacher, but honestly, he can be smarter than me at times. He comes down to my room a few times a day, because he struggles working in big groups. At the same time, I relieve the other teachers so they don't go completely insane.

Well, a week or so ago he had earned some free time because he finished all of his work. I let him get on the computer, because all of my other kids were at an assembly. Poor "Jonah" struggles with those as well...way to many people and too much noise. So I let him hang out in my classroom until it was over. He asked if he could go to his favorite website "WOOGI WORLD" I must be out of the loop. I didn't know what this place was and I asked him to tell me about it and show it to me before I'd let him just go and play. Well, I've never seen him so excited. After a brief explanation it seemed harmless and I let him play he was really quiet for a while then he exclaimed...

"Mrs. Holden I just made you into a Woogi. I've invited you to my Woogi World and now you're a citizen in my place. Can I look at you so I can make your Woogi look just like you?"

Then everyday after that "Jonah" wanted to play on Woogi World after he finished his work. He keeps me updated each day on how many Woogi dollars I've earned and all the virtual things I can buy with them.

I've learned, that it just goes to show that if you take a few minutes to show some interest into what a child is excited about...it can mean a lot to them and go a long way.

Lock Down Drill

Tomorrow we're having a whole bunch of different "drills" and because my kids are a little slower, I thought I'd prepare them a bit by going over the procedures of what to do in each scenario. The Fire and Earthquake drill wasn't too hard to practice. However, when I started to explain what to do in a Lock Down Drill and why we'd have a Lock Down Drill. They started getting a little worried. They asked all sorts of questions about who could come into the school, and why they'd want to come in the school. I tried to put it simple without scaring them and really tried to emphasize how we do these things to keep us safe. I had one little boy raise his hand and ask...

"Mrs. Holden, my dad just got out of prison and he's not supposed to see me and my little sister. So if he came here to get me would, Mr... (our principal) put the school in Lock Down to keep us safe? I'm scared that he'd come after me!"

My heart just broke into pieces. These kiddos have to deal with so much I never even thought about at their age. I can't believe it sometimes. They are such good kids, but sometimes come from not such good backgrounds.

Brain Doctor

This week I went to go get one of my little second graders. As we were walking back to my classroom, I asked his where he was yesterday. I was mostly likely expecting the usual answer when kids are absent "I was sick" But instead I got an earful. He told me that he went to a "Brain Doctor". It took me a minute to really understand what he was saying. I asked him if he had been having headaches thinking this may be the reason. He told me no. By this time we were back to my class, we got started on things. I didn't think much about because, I have kids that tell me all sorts of things that aren't true. But then later, he started talking about this brain doctor again. He said that he was doing okay and wasn't seeing black spots anymore. After he said that, I realized that this was no made up story. I couldn't believe all the things he was telling me about this doctor. I need to call his mom and find out the entire story.

Compound Words

I was walking down to my classroom one day after lunch when I walked by a second grade classroom. I noticed there was a wall that was newly decorated by compound words the children had created. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed "birthday" and I had to wonder what this child had come up with. I thought it was hilarious. Thank goodness for camera phones. Take note of the lady and the baby on the bed.

Growing A Mustache and A Beard

Here's just a small example of some of the funny conversations I have each day with my little kiddos at school.

As we were cleaning up and getting ready to go home, I was reminding them all that they have the joyous 5th Grade Maturation Class tomorrow. One of my little autistic kids, who I sometimes just want to bang my head against the wall with, came up to me. Here's a little snipit of our conversation.

"Johny": Mrs. Holden's is the maturation class the one where we talk about how our body changes?

me: Yep! (Hoping that would be the end of the conversation right there)

"Johny": Oh great! I'm soooo soooo soooo excited! I can't wait to grow a mustache and a beard! I think that would be the coolest thing ever! It's been one of my life long dreams to have a beard/mustache combo and grow some really long sideburns.

As he was talking, I was trying to visualize this small little kid with a mustache, beard, and sideburns and at the same time trying not to laugh. I was just so grateful that the conversation went the way that it did and that it ended at the facial hair. I could probably write a book with all the funny things I've heard over the years. These kids sure make me laugh.

Kids say the funniest things

I just wanted to share some of the funny things my kids at school have asked or said to me. I honestly laugh every day, but lately there have been some classics.

Last week it took me about 15 minutes to convince my 11 year old autistic boy that Abraham Lincoln was not our president at this current time, nor was he running for president. Although, I was impressed that he knew that the presidential elections were just around the corner.

Today one of my kids tried to convince me that her friend was related to Queen Elizabeth. How do these 8 year olds even know who Queen Elizabeth is? I definitely did not at that age.

A conversation with "Sally" a 6-year old girl today went something like this...

"Sally": Mrs. Holden I don't know how to choose a boy?

Me: Choose a boy? What do you mean? (I was really confused how she got on this topic when we're practicing counting.)

"Sally": Well, my mom told me that when I get older. I choose a boy and have babies. Then I can be a mommy. (I honestly was speechless. I just had to laugh on the simple outlook on life)

There's never a dull moment when you work with kids! :)

It's Officially Summer!

You know what that means... SUMMER VACATION IS HERE! Yea! For a teacher that's the best thing anyone could say. I am sooooo ready for summer! This school year has been a long one and if you couldn't tell already, I'm very excited. I'm so ready for the warm weather and relaxing days ahead. (especially now that our pool is open!) This summer is going to be full of lots of fun things...Camping, playing at the cabin, hiking, having Uncle Don & Aunt Deana visit from Ohio in July, having Mom & Dad Holden staying with us in August putting in our back yard, painting our house...the list could go on, and on.

As excited as I am that summer is finally here, it was also a sad day. I had to say goodbye to a lot of good friends & co-workers at Brookside today. I can't believe I've been at that school for 5 years. That's a long time in one place. I have really grown to love the little town of Springville and my school. So many memories. It's going to be hard starting over at a new school. I'm also going to miss my "kids" as hard as it's been. They have a soft spot in my heart.

Are Leprechaun's Real?

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone! So I have to share this funny story about my school kids! I thought it would be fun to celebrate the festive Irish holiday by putting green little foot prints all around my classroom with chocolate gold coins scattered everywhere. All last week my kids have had a big debate about whether Leprechauns are real or not. Today was the ultimate test. As soon as the bell rang and kids entered...they wondered if a leprechaun had been in our classroom. When they saw the footprints and gold they were so excited. Still there were non-believers. I had one boy swear he saw one running outside our window. Another thought the hole by the back fence outside was a leprechaun's home and went digging in it at recess time. I had to hold back some laughter when I asked why he was covered in mud. Other's in my class were very inquisitive... Why do leprechaun's only come around on St. Patrick's day? What do they do the rest of the year? Where do they get all their gold? What if they're favorite color is red? Why don't they wear red? Hummm...lets just say I had to be pretty creative with some answers. Kids make me smile! :)

An Artist is Born

Today while we were writing in out Journals I had a couple of my first graders at a table working together. Now although they were all first graders, they're on completely different level and because so I expected different things out of all of them. While they were drawing their pictures, one of the boys "Tom" leaned over to another little boy "Mike" and said...

"Ya know 'Mike' I am six years old and I have A LOT of experience in drawing. You have to think ahead about what you're drawing and try to make it look real. I can teach you sometime, if you want a drawing lesson."

The first thought I had to myself was...'Ya know "Tom" I am twenty-seven years old and I still don't know how to draw and make it look real. Can you teach me? On second thought, I think I'll just stick to my good old stick figures!'

Kids just say whatever is on their minds!

Daylight Drama

I have a cute little kindergarten-er in my class this year. We'll call her "Dori" After the first week of school my aide and I were talking about her and we realized that she reminded us both of the character "Dori" off of the movie 'Finding Nemo." She is always so happy and smiling, and yet at the same time she has no idea what is going on around her. She's had a lot of seizures in the past few years and they've really affected her. Her mom is great. She comes from humble circumstances, tries really hard and does the best she can for her little girl. They live close enough that her mom walks her to school every morning and is waiting in the hallways with two little ones waiting to pick her up after school.

Well it was a Monday morning. Not any old Monday, but it just happened to be the first day back after the daylight savings switch in the fall. I had come to early to prepare some things for the week and was busy about working in my classroom when at what was 7:40 I hear "Dori's" mom running down the hall saying "Hurry, Hurry Dori we're late!" At that time there weren't many other people in the school and that is sometimes weird when the big building is so quiet. So to hear that was very out of place. When they came rushing through the door and saw the classroom was empty with no kids. They both had very confused looks on their faces. I'm glad I was there and explained the whole daylight savings time switch. She was pretty embarrassed, but I just had to laugh at how cute this mom was in trying to get her there on time. Unlike some of my other children's parents who could care less.

Where's your pants?

So I have a little 1st grade boy who is totally clueless about so many things, it really makes me laugh sometimes. Well this one tops them all. He's sometime so clueless he doesn't realize that when the bell rings, it's time to come in from recess. Even though the entire playground is empty, I find him outside very contently playing. Well even a few times during lunch recess he would wander across the street to the local grocery store "Reams". It seems like a new adventure everyday.

Well to continue on with my story. This sweet little troublemaker had an "accident" in his pants during recess" So instead of going to the office and calling home or totally ignoring the issue(like most children). He decides to go into the bathroom and take them off (most likely because it was very uncomfortable and stinky) Well, at least he was smart enough not to leave the bathroom. So he hung out in there singing and playing around. Another little boy innocently went to go use the bathroom and saw him half naked. He ran to his teacher in a panic and they called the office to let them know. They called me down because I had already spent 15 minutes looking for him. When they told me that he was half naked I about died. Then me and the two secretaries were trying to decide who would be the lucky one to go retrieve this kiddo. Just then my principal walked through the door. One of the secretaries told him to go check the bathrooms without really explaining the situation. So he walked down the hall. We stepped outside quietly trying to hold in the laughter only to hear..."Where's your pants boy? What are you doing in here?" We all busted a gut and died laughing. My poor principal came out of the bathroom shaking his head. We ended up calling his parents who came down and fixed the situation. In the end it all worked out. But I love working with some hillarious secretaries who know an opportunity when they see one!

"Tess-ism"

So one of my most favorite students is "Tess" she is the most adorable girl and I've had the privilege of working with her for 4 years of the 5 years I've taught! "Tess" has downs syndrome. At first I was so nervous being her teacher, but she's helped me think about teaching in a different way. She has the sweetest spirit about her and I absolutely love her and her entire family. So I just have to write down a few of my most favorite moments this past few months. She's now in sixth grade and will be moving on to the junior high next year. It makes me sad to think that she won't be back.

So this year I met Stephen and got engaged. When I told my kids that I was getting married, most of them were excited. But it didn't last as long as "Tess". She is way into Disney Princess and thought this was just like you'd see on Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. She would keep asking me.... "You wear pretty dress? You Princess?" or "What his name? Is He boy?" Day after day I would get these darling questions with a giggle from her when I would respond that yes I'd wear a pretty dress and yes he is a boy named Stephen.

Her mom found out the news after school one day and was asking what my new name would be. She told me that she would love to bring he to the reception and start practicing my new name with her so that she would realize why my name is changing.

At first she'd started coming to school saying "Mrs. Hold-You." It was really cute and the other kids were confused at what she was trying to say or do, until I explained it to them.

Then after I sent an announcement/invite to the reception home, she would come into my office every morning before school and find my picture of Stephen on my desk. She would say "Stephen--You marry him" Then she would try to pose like we were posed in our engagement picture with me by linking our arms together. It took me a while to figure out what she was trying to do and then it clicked one day after she kept doing the same thing over and over again.

As crazy as my wedding day was, I do remember when her and her entire family made the drive from Springville to Bountiful just for my reception. They were so darling. As they were waiting in line she kept trying to wave at me. I finally looked over and saw her standing there. I waved to her and she was so shy, but had the biggest smile on her face. When they got to my parents who were first in line, she just came right over to me and gave me the biggest hug. I just wanted to cry right then and there it was so sweet. She wouldn't say anything and I think she was so shy seeing me in a different environment than at school and with a big group of people around.

After I got back from my honeymoon she would always tell me... "You married. You have pretty white dress. You kiss." and then she would try to kiss me on the lips. After doing this a few times, I had to talk with her about "kissing" What great memories! I will always remember this little girl!