Video Conferencing is part of my job too?

This year has brought a realization of just how many things fall under my job description, and one that I wasn't expecting was attending and speaking during video conferences to diagnose or gather information from various paraprofessionals on certain kids. These regularly include speech therapists, occupational therapists, program coordinators, behaviour consultants, specialists, pediatricians, parents and teachers.

I have been to three this year so far, and it has been nerve-wracking but interesting. We are expected to speak on behalf of the school, and to present what we see in the classroom. Each time, I hope to goodness I've been looking for and taking notes on the right things! They could be looking for social interactions, sensory seeking behaviours, anxiety, seizure indicators, etc.

Today was a little different of one, as the parents knew and even hoped for a diagnosis for their little guy, and were trying to make sure that all pieces of information fit together for the doctor to see, as the diagnosis was the difference between getting further funding for him or not (which he desperately needs). Because he doesn't fit in the regular boxes of Autism (ASD), parents were worried that this would be passed over in favour of just a sensory processing disorder, which would mean his coding would remain as 'speech' only, which is a difference of no assistant aid, and no occupational therapy support.

The pediatrician was able to make a diagnosis for this little one, but it hit me hard to see the parents' faces as they heard. The mix of relief and sadness was very apparent, and I can only imagine how hard it is to hear something like that about your own child. So today I'm thinking hard about how incredible a parent's job is. My plate may be full, but I still send these kiddos home at 3:00 pm, and though I may lose sleep over worrying about them once in a while, a parent must feel that a million times over. Thank goodness for amazing parents and their equally incredible kids!

Thanks for reading!

Staying Sane as a New Teacher...(on the Prairies)

*Alberta can be pretty, I'll admit it!*

This post doesn't have much to do with teaching, but something that goes hand in hand and is just as important to me. Finding your own measure of sanity, or coping mechanism for crazy days goes a long way in any job!

I was never a student who could go to school all day, come home and study until dinner, then again until bedtime. I would fall asleep at the desk. This trend of falling asleep during academics continued throughout university (sorry Mom and Dad!) and even resulted in an embarrassing episode of falling asleep during a seminar class with a round-table seating plan. Oops. That said, my brain tends to completely shut off when it's full or had enough, and I've always needed something else going on to balance it out. (A few days ago, I fell asleep mid-text message, and apparently fell asleep so hard that I didn't hear the response that came just one minute later.)

I was very lucky and found that I loved gymnastics at age 8, and continued training until I was 18. I had the opportunity to begin coaching at 13, and spent 11 years having a steady job because of it. It filled a lot of time for me, and kept me awake much longer than I would have if I hadn't had a sport or hobby. When I moved to Calgary for post-secondary, doing competitive gymnastics was no longer a possibility, so I had started following my sister's lead in running throughout my grade 12 year. (I still love to go to the gym club and play though!)

It took me a full year to enjoy running. (I still have a hard time realizing that you can get a good, efficient workout done in less than 4 hours, but I'll cope!) My sister and I had a few road trips together for races, and running became a rejuvenating, mind clearing activity, just as much as a necessary workout. That doesn't mean that it's always easy to make yourself go though.

Over the past ten years, I've mostly stopped doing road races (I get bored on the flat pavement) and have started to really enjoy trail running. I figure my short legs have to be good for something! Yay hills! Going for a run has become my favourite way to explore new places and always makes me feel like I've accomplished something. I also feel much more ready to take on work afterwards.

*The notorious runners that won't die. They get brighter when they're wet too. Charming.*

This year of teaching has taken a lot of patience and work, and I'm happy to have my own way of motivating and challenging myself. I also find that as much as I love the idea of working out with others, my favourite runs have been by myself. Maybe I am a little bit of a hermit after all, but I find that after a day surrounded by people at work (and those 5-year olds need every bit of attention you can spare!) the last thing I crave is to be surrounded by more people. That said, we do have a "Tuesday Tradish" running club going at one school (at the moment it consists of three-including me- new teachers who take an hour to run on the canals through farmer's fields). It has been a really nice way of getting to know new friends, and a huge challenge after a long day in Kindergarten! I'm thankful to have running and a basic foundation of exercising to keep me sane- especially when you consider my other stress-relief hobby.....

Baking.
Teachers at both schools know when I'm overwhelmed because I walk in with a batch of cupcakes, cinnamon buns, pies, etc. The response last week from one teacher was, "Gosh, I love when you're stressed."

*Dark Chocolate Cupcake with Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Dark Chocolate Ganache*

I still think a big reason I got hired in the first place was that I mentioned I liked to bake. The principal's eyes lit up and I'm willing to bet that's when I had his vote.

Anyways- whether it's a walk, run, baking or writing session, having something to 'keep me awake' and motivated has been incredible in changing my perspective and giving me an attitude adjustment when I need it most, and I'm thankful for it!

*Mid-snow-conditioning on a sunny Sunday field run!*

*One little story from last week so I don't forget:
A little guy was standing on the carpet mumbling to himself (mouth completely closed). He saw that I was watching him and volunteered, "Hey Teacher, I was just talking to my teeth!"

Isn't that a great way to describe mumbling? What a turkey.

Happy New Year! Things continue to be crazy...

This school year has been exhausting and often frustrating, but I am learning.
A LOT.
Every day.
And that's pretty lucky.

A late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to those who haven't given up on my postings, or haven't seen me for a while! After Christmas brunches (in both schools), parties and concerts, it was definitely time to head home for a break. Once again, I spent the entire Christmas coughing, and am still getting over it a month later. Yeesh. Much of our first day(s) back at school included re-learning and practicing hand-washing. I've never seen so many kids whose hands are always migrating to mouths, noses, eyes, etc. than this year.


My mind is drawing a blank right now so far as writing, but I know that I've many stories, frustrations and laughs to share. I wish that I could put videos up of the kiddos- we've got some pretty great ones of new achievements, dance parties and gym classes. Just before Christmas we had one little guy move away on very short notice. He has had a very tough life, and as it was, we were his longest, most consistent relationship. I know Kathy and I both lost a huge amount of sleep and hydration that week and those following- we sure miss our little guy. We planned a last day for him filled with his favorite activities, and celebrated our friendship! * When this little guy came to us last January, he was in a foster home, had a total of three words, hoarded food, had been taking care of his 1-year old sister, threw massive screaming fits, and had no idea how to play. It is heartbreaking to see a three year old stand and stare (for hours if we had let him) at the children around them and have no idea what was happening.

By the time we had to say goodbye, this little guy could have a full conversation, laughed, danced, could eat without choking, shoving food in or worrying whether there would be any for next time, talked his problems out (for the most part) and was celebrating his successes daily. It's incredible how resilient kids are, and how much we came to care for our buddy over our 10 months together.

As his hugs were something that Kathy and I looked forward to every morning, we decided to make him his own "Book of Hugs" that he could take to his next school/home. We went on a photo mission, taking pictures of anyone who knew him in the school and felt like sharing a hug. We read stories together, played with toys and spent time with one another. I also took some video of him reading, and was shocked at the things I noticed (speech-wise) from a video. Since then, Kathy and I have been video-ing daily, and have really been able to work more specifically with many of our kiddos on speech sounds, behaviours, etc.

Some highlights:

- Our quietest kiddo (ELL) coming to our desk, tying a shoe, and how proud he was to share his success with us- without a word! This guy has been tying his own shoes every day since. Hurray!

- Our Christmas concert was a lot of fun. The Kindergarten kids, Grade 1's and Grade 2's told/sang the story of "Pete the Cat Saves Christmas," by Eric Litwin. I almost had to kick myself off the stage after one of our boys busted out in his own solo, half a step behind everyone else.

- Overheard conversations: Two boys were sharing a puzzle on the carpet, when one said, "You know, you need a girlfriend and that's that."

The second little boy looked up solemnly and responded, "Yea...I need a girlfriend."

- Kathy asked a little guy what he was up to, and he (coloring a picture) says, "Ohhhhh you know, just shakin' my booty. That's all, just shakin' my booty."

- Dance parties to Happy Feet (Michael Jackson style)

I'm going to keep it short today as this coming week will be another challenge (we're getting another little one again, and half of my week has been taken already with planning, meetings, etc. to prepare for him coming). I just want to spend time with the kids - I'm getting tired of sharing them with (amazing) substitute teachers! I'm just always shocked at how much classroom time is taken away in rural Kindergarten classrooms for pre-K and K meetings, appointments, etc. I'm wishing these things were somehow built into our year ahead of time...it will all work out!

Thanks for reading!

Naps, dance parties, and something neat about Kindergarten!

I've mentioned quite a few times that I love the physical and developmental age of Kindergarten kids. I love the way they think, grow and act, and feel pretty darn lucky to spend so much time with them daily. One of the greatest things about small children is their empathy and willingness to accept and celebrate differences.

It's clearly been a busy month (and a bit!) as I haven't posted in much too long. As promised, I'm going to focus on the positives of my job!

1. As always, I am so lucky to have incredible people to work and laugh with. As I'm in two schools this year, it has been so much fun to meet new people again, and to get to know some of the younger teachers in the region. We have had dinner parties, workouts and daily pep talks involving show tunes. There are some truly incredible teachers and TAs in this region, who put huge amounts of energy and creativity into their jobs and are motivating just to watch in action!

2. I get to laugh every day at work. I get to put on music and dance whenever I feel like it, and always have 14+ dance partners ready to bust a move with me. I also get some of the most straight-forward honesty there is.

3. Nap time. Forced or not, it's always a great time to close the doors, pull the blinds, put on some music, lay on the carpet and pretend to snore through a few songs. (If only they'd actually sleep!)

4. We are on the receiving end of some of the greatest hugs in the world! For one little guy who has a tough life outside of school, our morning hugs have become a central part to our day, and (we hope!) helps him realize that even though things are tricky and tough to figure out at home, we will be there to welcome him and to provide some routine and stability.

A couple anecdotes to close this post:

I have one little guy who speaks very quickly and stutters as a result. One day during free play he came up to me with a toy ambulance in his hand saying, "L-l-l-l-ook t-t-t-eacher! I-i-it's a-a-a....sorta-police!" Of course it took me a few go-rounds to understand the connection he was making! (This is the same little guy who went around the school on his birthday with leftover cake for the other teachers saying, "H-h-hey! You wan'cake?"

In one school I have a little boy (4 years old) who is epileptic. He is mostly non-verbal, as he has about 5 words that he can speak and has very little connection between these words and their meanings. Today I had just started on our 'Sound Connections,' literacy program, with the aim to review letter sounds. This little boy shoved his way to the front, took a pointer, and made his way right to the board to stand in front of me. This already was huge for him, as he is a very busy guy and doesn't like to stay in one place (much less one room) for any period of time. Second, the fact that he was engaging in our lessons and with the rest of the kids was pretty amazing. The kids realized right away that it was this little guy's turn to play teacher, and to watch him for instruction. I printed a letter on the board (or combinations of them), and the students would sing the letter sounds together as he tapped the board with his wand, and stopped when he stopped. It was very cool to see the connections he was making just from his facial expressions.

In the same school I have another boy who is very sensitive to the feeling of things, being touched and loud noises. Today we were making snowmen out of finger-paint and our thumbs, and this little guy decided that he would do it too. This is huge for this little one, and he stuck his hand right in the paint (as long as he had a clean towel to wipe off on!) and got to work without a fuss. Thank goodness for cameras!

I think that's all I can handle for tonight as I'm falling asleep as I type!

Thanks for reading!

Never Have I Ever...the Teacher's Version

  This first month and a half of school has been very frustrating, draining and full of opportunities to redefine my capacity for patience and the limits of my immune system. Both need some work. There have been some fantastic experiences too, which I will write about at a later date. It seems more important to get this out now.

Loosely based on the game, “Never Have I Ever,” I felt a need to write a few things down, as much to vent as to look back on in the future…I’m sure I will be adding to it!

Never Did I Ever (Imagine)…Teaching Version:

-       potty training children

-       tossing out a whole day’s lesson planning just to pursue a great conversation with a group

-       chasing children down the hallways and playing unwilling games of ‘hide and seek’…ten times daily

-       locking a child out of my classroom to try to make a point

-       needing a ‘safety word’ to call out to staff to give permission to grab a runaway child

-       the amount of paperwork involved in teaching Kindergarten and Pre-K

-       wiping children’s bottoms

-       the feeling of a child’s hug after they’ve had a traumatic experience

-       and the feeling of loss when a child is taken out of school as a result of unsafe conditions at home

-       re-learning to cut, color and draw, and attempt to print right-handed to demonstrate skills (darn being left-handed!)

-       being bitten

-       being hit and kicked and essentially, beat up by a 4-year old

-       how incredible it is to see when a child finally understands a concept

-       needing time outs for myself

-       the anger and frustration I have for parents who have put their children in unsafe environments from pre-birth

-       the number of conversations involving nose-picking and bodily functions had in complete seriousness

-       the expectations placed on teachers to teach curriculum, manners, social norms, right and wrong, positive motivation, etc.

-       and then that these expectations are not continued at home

-       the responsibility to decipher, diagnose, and put in place plans for students from doctors, lawyers, social workers, behaviour consultants, occupational therapists and speech therapists

-       crying in front of a child to try to make a point

-       crying in the principal’s office

-       moving an entire class out of the classroom and into the hallway to finish reading a story to allow another student to finish a crying/screaming fit

-       having glorious dance parties often

-       being invited to student’s homes for tea parties, princess parties, farming, tv show watching and holiday dinners

-       losing so much sleep through worrying about students, lesson planning and creating ‘what-if’ situations

-       getting to know children, their families, history and health backgrounds in such depth

-       convincing children that teachers have their own playground in the staff-room

-the amount of love and care that you develop for each child in a short period of time

Thanks for reading! 

I lied...

Scratch the "not-as-exhausted" part of my last post.

I am truly, completely tired, and until today, had a pretty bleak outlook on how this year would turn out. I am still feeling more confident about asking questions, putting behaviour, speech and occupational therapy plans into place, and bombarding parents with calls, emails, etc. ANYTHING to keep communication going and for the kids to realize that parents/guardians and teachers are all on the same team.

Just the same, I almost cried on my fantastic vice-principal on Monday. Poor guy asks an innocent question like, "so, how was the day?" And gets a silly f'male (as Dad would say) blinking back, shaking her head and trying to keep down tears. This awesome fella asked me into his office and talked me through things (a runaway kid, high volume class, boundary testing and at-limits assistants and teachers) and brought up new perspectives that I was too selfish at that point to look at. It turns out he was right, and after a meeting this morning, I at least have a better understanding of one little guy's situation, and where it doesn't excuse certain behaviours, makes it much easier to realize that these are small outbursts compared to what this child is working through. I can't imagine being 4 or 5 years old and having some of the experiences that these children have had, and are 'thriving' in spite of.

The things that children in our world, country, provinces, communities and homes live through are incredible. Children have to be the most resilient human beings there are.

Many of these kids have no reason to understand emotions, or have any true reaction to care or love that they can understand or verbalize. Every child deserves to be cared for, respected and loved, and it makes me sick that there are SO many that aren't granted that basic necessity.

Sometimes the biggest thing we can do for these kids is offer consistency and and extra hug. This week I saw a vice-principal make a huge deal about a girl (grade 4 or 5) who showed up at school 4/5 days this week. She congratulated her, made sure she recognized that this was so tough for this little girl, gave her a hug and a promise that she would be right there at the door on Monday, expecting to see her face and hear about her weekend. The things that school employees do for kids consistently surprises me, and makes me so happy to be around people that truly care about kids and their lives. The lovely lady that works in my classroom was asked by the 2012-2013 graduating class to be their guest speaker, and couldn't get over that she was the one that they chose. I'm so glad that the students recognize how much certain people will give just to make sure of their success, as the people who work hardest often go unnoticed. This amazing person has been known to drive 1 1/2 hours just to buy an apple pie for a high school student who promised to show up at school for three weeks straight if there was a Costco apple pie waiting at the end for him. This might sound silly or that the student needs a swift kick and a talking-to in order to straighten up, but these are often the things that make the difference between that student putting in the time to graduate, and dropping out, and the stories that the public doesn't hear during labour/wage disputes (not that I am in any way willing to dispute a solid stance on either side at this point). In the end, totally worth the trip and cost, but can seem like a silly thing to endorse on the surface. There are some truly amazing people that work in the schools I am lucky enough to be in.

Now to switch the topic! Our senior girls had their first games of the season this past week, and while I am a very quiet, unconfident contributor to strategies during the game, I think I'm picky enough to make points on form, strength and motivations after the game, and so far, I feel I'm contributing a bit to the team and I'm not really getting in the way of the head coach of the team (he is much more vocal and focused on plays during games- which is a great balance). It has been very cool to see how body positions and efficiency can transfer from gymnastics to other sports, and also fun that I can keep having an active environment to look forward to. The girls have asked me if I would be interested in working out with them/running an extra workout on Monday nights after school, which will be a fun way to get more active myself (I get so unmotivated on the prairies, and miss mountains!) and get to know the girls. This, paired with the adult ballet class I'm taking, will at least guarantee a solid workout in addition to weekends. Tomorrow we have a home tournament that goes from about 8am-8pm (depending on how we do in games), so I'm hoping to get some paperwork done between games at least!

I think I'm typed-out for a Friday night, and my coyote friends are serenading me...I love living out here!

More about spaghetti squash, runaway kids and manners next time!

Thanks for reading!

2nd year, 2 classrooms, 2 classes, 2 times the fun!

Here we are again, except this time I'm feeling much more confident and much less exhausted than last year at this time. We have just finished our first week back to school with the kids (I've been back and setting up classrooms, meeting parents and kids and going to meetings for the past three weeks) and while I'm feeling a little tired, I'm also much more settled.

This year I am lucky enough to be renting a farmhouse outside of town, and is it ever nice to feel like I have a home again! As I mentioned in my last post, I am teaching at two different schools this year (about 10 km apart), half time at each. So far, so good. I can't say enough about having amazing people to work with in the room- at one school I have one lovely lady working in the room (so far) and am so happy to have her there again. We were together last year as well, and she is honestly the school superwoman, and regularly saves me from making huge mistakes, jumps in to clean up messes (usually made by me) and is always there to give a kiddo a hug or soothe a nervous parent. She has also become one of my closest friends here, and we look forward to the laughs that happen every day in Kindergarten.

This is a picture I colored and hung in our room for those Charlie Brown Days, remember?

In our class (at this point) we have 12 boys and 1 girl. I have replaced our carpet with wrestling mats, and it looks awesome. On our first day together we had some fun with some movement activities, a visit to the library (I wish I could put up pictures of these little guys in the cool 'reading glasses' that our awesome librarian has for the kids- hilarious!), and snack-making (fruit shish-kebabs). We also have some pretty polite little guys, as one little boy said, "excuse me Miss Kotlarz, may I get a kleenex so I don't pick it?"

I can't wait for the Miss Clark show to start on Monday...

In the other school I am sharing a classroom with another teacher, as this community is a little bigger and there are enough Kindo-gah-tens (as our VP says it) for two classes. I decided that as I have a classroom to myself at the other school, I would step back from decorating this one and let the other teacher make it her 'home base.' So far we have pretty different ways of doing things, but are working together just fine. I was really worried about the two ladies that work in the room with us, as they are there full time, and switch from my way of teaching to the other teacher's each day. That can be exhausting. We're trying really hard to get to know each other well enough that everyone feels comfortable enough to say when something isn't working out, or has a suggestion to make things run smoother. Again, I'm feeling so lucky to have these ladies to work with. They truly run the room and could do a fantastic job of it if I wasn't there. They have also worked with the lady that has done Kindergarten for the past 8 years in this school (who had everything worked out down to a science) and have been so helpful in reminding me if I'm missing something or needs attention. They're miracle workers!

This class is almost opposite my mostly-boys class, as we currently have 17 (soon to be 18+) kids, and consists of 12 girls and 5 boys. So far there are some big, lively personalities in this room, and a few that just need an extra hug once in a while. I was a little worried the first day as there were kids everywhere, asking when recess was, when home-time was, when we were having snack, gym and lunch...the entire day. I had chosen to forget that the fun part about starting Kindergarten is that often kids haven't been exposed to an environment where they are expected to listen quietly, sit still and raise their hand to speak...not that we can make it longer than 5 minutes by mid-year. It's our project for the month of September to learn these expected routines, get to know each other, and what we need to do when we are in the classroom. Our second day was much smoother and manageable already, so I think we'll get along fine.

I did discover this class' love for 'Jillian Jiggs, Maker of Wonderful, Marvelous Pigs' (Phoebe Gilman). On the inside back cover of this book there are instructions for how to make a stuffed pig out of nylons (I remember making these with my Mom and sister when we were younger), which the kids quickly picked up on and insisted we make sometime...SOON. There are some smart kiddos in this bunch. So, if anyone has a brilliant idea of how to make a Jillian Jiggs pig without sewing (I would like the kids to do as much of it themselves as possible), please pass it on to me! So far I'm thinking of knotting the end to close it up and make a tail, and using elastic bands for its' feet...

We had an eventful first week that ended with us having to cancel class for our boys on their second day to go to an 'Autism Speaks' workshop that should have been amazing. Unfortunately, it didn't include anything on Autism, and while we did get some interesting points from the regional OT on sensory children in the ten minutes she sat down with us, we felt that we had wasted the day, and would have much rather had Kindergarten. We will be back with the Miss Clark show on Monday to make up for it!

I am going to go enjoy my morning coffee in my sun-filled living room and do some reading and paperwork...have a great weekend and thanks for reading!