The.

We decided we needed to try and build up the bank of our river property to help with spring flooding.  We hired a guy and he did the building up part, and then we went to smooth it out and plant grass seed.

Side note.  This is the second tree we have lost to a beaver.

Anyways we raked smooth all these track mark things from the machines-

And got it all smooth and ready for grass.

We then spread the grass seed and walked over it to “plant” it.

Here are the boys with their cousins doing just that.

Basketball season is starting up for the boys.  HD found out he made Varsity, and LD is a swing player, meaning he will be on JV, but also join Varsity.  HD is working on getting his driver’s license, Kate is far away doing college like things, and Hadley is home/working/going to college.  Things are just trucking along with our family.

Meanwhile, in fabulous first grade . . .

We finished all six books of Mercy Watson and had our toast party.

Let us discuss life in the fabulous first grade.  For it brings me joy.

Buddy.  Remember Buddy?  Buddy is a goose.  He is just a silly goose.  He is not on planet Earth, so sometimes it is hard to teach him.  I was lucky enough to have an aide able to help out for a bit in my classroom the other day, so I asked her to sit by Buddy during his monthly computer reading test.

Did you know that THE BEST way to determing whether six year olds can read is by putting them on a computer with headphones and having them take a test all by themselves and assume they won’t get distracted and will for surely be trying their best at all times and not get bored and definitely show their best?

Well.  That’s how we do.

So.  I knew Buddy would have a hard time putting forth his best effort, so I asked the aide, Mrs. H., to sit by him.  This test has several subtests, and at the end of each subtest, the test will show a graph and the kids can see if their score went up from the last time they took the test.

So, Mrs. H. is by him, giving him back pats and gently redirecting his head back to the area of where the computer is and Buddy finishes a subtest.  I can see from where I am standing that his graph has gone up-significantly.  Meaning, he did well and did much better than last month.

Buddy’s mouth drops and he whisper shouts to Mrs. H:

I AM SO SHOCKED!

And Mrs. H smiles at him and says, “I wasn’t shocked!”

And his smile was gold.  At the end of the test, he was putting away his computer.

Me:  You did a good job on your test, Buddy!

Buddy:  I KNOW!  I only got distracted like 3 or 4 times today!

Bless his little heart.

And bless Mrs. H.

***

Awhile back, I was teaching verbs.  I start with just action verbs and I teach them something I learned during my homeschool years called “The Verb Finder.”

The verb finder tells the kids to ask, “Can I _____?” And if the answer is yes, it is a verb.

Can I walk?  Yes!  Can I smile?  Yes!  Can I cat?  No (giggle, giggle).

Me:  Let’s try run.  Can I run?

Student loudly shouting:  NO!  WE NEVER RUN IN THE CLASSROOM!

***

A student who is now in 4th grade came into my classroom yesterday morning.  He usually stops in every morning to say hello.  He was with me during the 2019-2020 school year when we had to shut down in March.

4th grader:  You know what’s not fair?

Me:  What?

4th grader:  We didn’t get to finish 1st grade.

Me:  Oh, that’s right.  That was the year we shut down early.  Yes, that was a bummer.

4th grader:  I really liked first grade.  I don’t think that is fair.

Me (teasing):  Well, you can come back now!  Just think of how advanced you will be!

4th grader:  Ha.  Well I want to.

Me:  You cannot!  You know it all.  What does the letter “e” say?

4th grader:

Me:

4th grader:

Me:  Well, have a good day in 4th grade!

***

One of my boys is a farter.  And, yes, that sounds rude, but there isn’t a polite way to put it.  It’s like it is his joy in life to do this.  And he does it.  Often.

Sure, at first it would get some giggles from his peers, but frankly, we are all just over it.

We were lining up to leave PE the other day, and I saw him get out of line and walk to the back.

Me:  Dude?  What are you doing?

Boy:  Polly told me I had to go to the back of the line.

I look at Polly, another student, trying to convey disappointment in her bossiness.

Me:  Why are you telling him to go to the end of the line, Polly?

Polly:  Because he WON’T.  STOP.  FARTING.

Me:  Oh, ok.  I understand.

***

One of my boys talks in a very deep voice.  It is a total man voice.  We went on a walking field trip the other day, and I happened to be walking right near him.

I hear a man voice loudly proclaim:  “I am taking a walk with Taylor Maliblahblah.”

Except he said my real last name.

Me:  How do you know my first name?

Boy:  Oh, I know it.

Boy had to leave early for throwing up in the classroom all over the floor.  He came back after staying home for a bit to make sure he was back to good health.

Boy (in man voice):  I sure hated being home sick.  I had to miss out on all that learning!

***

My little Ukranian girl makes my world go round.  She is the cutest thing and whenever she doesn’t know what someone is saying to her, she breaks out ALL of her dimples and does this cute little “I don’t know” shrug.  She is a hard worker and is catching on very quickly.

In all honestly, folks, I think she is a child genius.

She is one of my top math students, which make sense, because numbers are the same.  She came in not knowing any letters, and now she has all their sounds.  So, we are working on blending, and that is seriously the most precious thing you could ever see in your entire life.

Girl:  C . . . . a . . . . .t

Me:  Ok, blend.

Girl, with very exaggerated head motions, tries to sound out the word and it sounds something more like if you said “Caught” and drug out the vowel sound for an extra long time.

I do not think they have the digraph “th” in the Ukraine, and that is a delight to teach her.  Precious pumpkin does NOT know what to do with her tongue.

Spit goes everywhere, but that girl is working hard!  I suspect she might take over the world.

***

We divide our entire first grade into tiers for strategic reading instruction.  I have the lowest tier, and within that tier, I have them grouped low to high to target their specific needs.

Let’s talk about my Tier 3 Group A .  There are only a handful of them, but they need a lot of targeted practice.

This is what I sound like.

Open the book.  Point to the first word.  No, open the book.  Your book is upside down.  Point to the word.  What is this word?

Student:  t . . . . . h . . . . . e

Oh!  This is a red word!  We cannot sound it out!  Who knows what this word is?  Yes!  You try!

Student: t . . . . h . . . . . e

Remember our song?  “You can say the and you can say the (thee) but you always spell it . . . ”
Kids:  T-H-E!

Right!  T-H-E spells the!  So let’s try this word again!

Student:  t . . . h . . . . e

The word is “the!”  Let’s move on!  Point to the next word.  Everybody!  Get your fingers ready!  Let’s say the sounds!  Oh!  You need to point to the word, please!  Hands out of pants!  Ok!

Student:  b . . . . i . . . . t

Yes!  Now blend it into a word!

Student: top?

So.  That’s what happens in case anyone was wondering why I fall asleep most nights before 8pm.

And . . . I love them.  And its still early in the year, so I am all full of hope and promise and sure I will get them reading.

And they WILL READ THE WORD “the.”

Wish me luck!

Happy Weekend!