10 Ways Public Education is like The Hunger Games

I know you've been dying to read this post...(Pun intended.) About a month ago, I was working on a blog post and referenced The Hunger Games.  It suddenly hit me how much public education is like the fight-to-the-death competition in The Hunger Games. Seriously! I had one of those Aha! moments.  The more I thought about it, the more parallels I was able to draw.  I mean, really.  If you are a teacher, aren't there days or weeks or months that you feel like you are up against insurmountable odds? I know I feel this way quite often! So, without further adieu...

#1.  Teachers are expected to come out victorious against insurmountable odds.

#2.  Just when you think you've got the hang of public education, they throw in some new obstacle just like poor Katniss and those awful fireballs or poisonous fog.  Hello, common core! I am talking to you.

#3.  As teachers, we often feel we are facing a battle alone much like the competitors in the Hunger Games.  Yes, some alliances exist, but it doesn't seem to end well which is really a shame.

#4.  The Capital - They are misquided and unaware.  Much like the politicians and leaders shaping public education currently.

#5.  Mockingjays.  Elementary-aged students. Enough said.

#6.  Trackerjackers.  A horde of angry parents.

#7.  May the odds be ever in your favor.  Think testing!!!!

#8.  We fight each other.  We fight the elements.  Often with little or no resources.  And we are at the mercy of the public if we get teacher supplies!

#9.  Just because something was a rule yesterday doesn't mean it's still a rule today.

#10.  Public education will try to break you.  Just like President Snow.  Stay strong.  If Peeta Mellark can survive The Hunger Games, so can you!

Valentine's Day...Better late than never!

Let's talk Valentine's Day for a minute.

 

We were out for snow on the big day so our class didn't celebrate Valentine's Day until the following week.  The kids were perfectly content with this.  Let's be honest.  Celebrating Valentine's Day at the 1st grade level is fun, fun, fun!  It may even be better than Christmas.  There's just so much color and chocolate and excitement everywhere you can't help but enjoy it.

I think I came out of our Valentine's party with enough chocolate to feed a small country.  Don't get me wrong, I really like chocolate, but a mountain of tasty chocolate does not help in the weight-loss battle.  Solution? I shared it with my husband. :)

I also received this awesome mason jar (look to the left) filled with s'mores trail mix.  How cute is the note on the front??  Obviously this kid gets an A.

For legal reasons, let me be clear: I AM JOKING ABOUT THE A.

I feel I need to cover my bases since there are people out there who can't take a joke! I hope you are not one of those people.

You're not, right? I'd really like to keep my job...

Right, then. Moving on.

 

Here's a look at one of the cute math activities we did for Valentine's Day.  It is a roll and color dice activity for math.  The kids like to shake up dice, and they like to color so it's a win-win kind of thing.  If you don't already do these roll and color activities with your kiddos, you might want to try them out.  They are so much fun! Plus, they reinforce key math skills.  Really, it's a win-win situation for everyone. 
 

 

On a side note, yes, I understand the singular of dice is die. However, I think it sounds weird, and dice is acceptable to say now...at least according to the Oxford dictionary. 

 

Anyway, this roll and color activity is actually something I made and put up on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I am almost finished with a St. Patrick's Day set that includes roll and color activities, as well.  You can check out the fox page at this link: Valentine Roll and Color OR click on my TPT link over to the right of this page to see what else is available.  There's not much there currently, but I'm working on it.  Same with the blog.  There's not a lot here yet, but I'm headed in the right direction.  So stay tuned!

Until next time, let me leave you with this Valentine message I found on Pinterest.  I think this kid has a firm grasp of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

 

Note to self: Have the kids make their own Valentines next year.

 

 

 

 

Happy 100th Day!

 

 



I imagine this being said in Effie Trinket's voice from The Hunger Games.  Instead of saying "Happy Hunger Games!" say "Happy 100th Day!".  If you have no clue what I'm talking about, go watch the movie.  Better yet, read the book!  You may not realize it, but there are some parallels between teaching and the Hunger Games fight to the death competition.  No joke.  I started thinking about it the other day.  I'll post that later... For now, let's catch up!

Earlier this month, my class celebrated the 100th day of school.  Now, to adults, 100 days might not seem like such a milestone, but I promise you that 1st graders (and teachers) believe otherwise.  Counting to 100 is a big deal in kindergarten and 1st grade so we teachers like to recognize this on the 100th day of school.  It doesn't hurt that there are a million cute things you can find to do with the number 100.  For example, you can write 100 words you know, count out 100 pieces of candy, make a book of 100 things, or write about what you would look like 100 years from now.  The kids LOVE it! I definitely shared their enthusiasm this year. I think the activity with the most success was the 100th Day Trail Mix.  The kids were given a handful of 10 different snacks and had to count out 10 of each snack to add to a bowl.  Once all 10 different snacks were placed in the bowl (and we added each group of 10 to 100), the kids were able to eat their snack. They loved it!  Who wouldn't? Food is a great learning tool and motivator, especially when it takes the form of mini marshmallows and M&Ms.  Mmmm!

Speaking of food, one of the room moms brought in 100th day cupcakes for our celebration.  Here's a pic: 

They were delicious! We are pretty lucky this year to have a baker in our midst.  We've had super cute and tasty cupcakes for all major events in our room.  If you are interested, you can check out her work on Facebook at Jenn's Southern Sweets.  She makes a killer cake pop, too. :)


Ok, so, I've told you about the importance of 100th day, piqued your interest with how it relates to the Hunger Games, and talked about trail mix and cupcakes.   I think my job here is done.  Let me leave you with the awesome posters some of the students chose to do as an extra credit project to celebrate the 100th day milestone.  They did such a good job!!!

 

 



A little bit of CHEVRON goes a long way

        It's amazing what a little bit of color can do for a classroom! I bought a new rug for my house yesterday and decided to bring the old one to school.  I plopped the old one in front of my math board, and BAM!, instant curb appeal.  It is chevron, by the way.  (I'm obsessed.)  Of course, the kids liked it.  Then again, they pretty much get excited about EVERYTHING! And, no, that is not an exaggeration.  Here's a typical class conversation:

Me: Class, we are going to work on  <insert weekly skill here> today.

Class: Yaaaaay! Wahoooo! Awesome! You're the best teacher ever!!!!!

(Sometimes I even get a "You're the best teacher in the universe!" Hahaha! Talk about an ego boost! Those of you who teach upper grades probably think I'm making this up, but I promise I'm not!  It definitely makes classroom life easier!)

So, back to today.  The class was very well behaved today considering we've been out for several days due to snow and freezing temperatures.  Hopefully, I haven't jinxed myself by saying that! We worked on silent e words and ordinal numbers (which I have a super cute math center to go with later this week) plus a whole lot of phonics/phonemic awareness/sentence writing/comprehension/reading/small group/whole group/centers/partner talk/contractions/skip counting thrown in.  There is soooo much to learn in 1st grade! Let me repeat that:

There is sooooo much to learn in 1st grade!

 

I've got to say it's really fun though.  I like being able to see the kids' excitement and growth from day to day. The class is working on foundational skills that the rest of their academic life will be based on.  It has to be a strong foundation.  As a certain football coach might say, the kids are building their foundation brick by brick. Or, in my case, rug by rug. :)

Introductions and Such

Hello, all! I have finally decided to venture into the blogging world. 

This is me. 

Do I know what I am doing?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

In other words, please forgive me if you are an avid blogger.  Ha, I almost put booger.  See what I mean? Can you tell I'm an elementary school teacher???

I will predominately be talking education in the blog, but as is the life of a teacher, many things compete for my brain space.  I am sure some of these things will make their way on to this page.  To be honest, you can't be a teacher, a good teacher, without it being a part of who you are as a person.  And as a person, I enjoy quite a few things that are not typically a part of my classroom, such as playing the piano, sleeping, and traveling.  Unfortunately, it seems that those higher on the educational food chain believe we would operate best as robots in a vacuum.  Morons. Oops.  I guess that's not the polite way to say that...

Please understand: This blog will be therapeutic. As the title indicates, I am in NO WAY a perfect teacher.  For now, I do the best I can with the information and resources that I have, and if I learn better, then I do better.  I am not looking to spark a political debate or even have a heated discussion.  I just want a place to reflect on teaching (with a little bit of humor) and show that teachers are not perfect.  Even if we try really, really hard.   And that's okay.

For now,  let me leave you with this inspired gem from today's early dismissal. :)

 

 

 

We've all been there.

 

 

P.S. Comments are most definitely welcome.  If you are a teacher reading this, tell me what you'd like to talk about!

P.P.S.  I just got the call that school is cancelled for tomorrow due to inclement weather. Someone's been praying!

P.P.P.S.  It wasn't me.