There's nothing like burning yourself with the iron on Monday, then having a child refuse to come in your room and throw himself on the floor two days in a row, have reading groups that just won't cooperate, and then having to clean 7 dead stinky decomposing snails out of a nasty fish bowl.

Needless to say, I am glad this week is almost over.

I will start with the snails....

Snails are part of our mandated science curriculum. I introduced them on Monday, the kids were super excited and were being very gentle while holding the snails (I am pretty sure some of them were dead at this point). Some of the kids started complaining that their snails weren't moving. I said it was probably because they were scared. In the back of my head I was thinking, "Oh crap! What if these snails are dead?! How do you tell if a snail is dead, anyway?" So I went to my computer and googled how to check if a snail is dead. The results were not too helpful. I just decided to let it be for the day, and that I would check on them tomorrow, to see if they were in the same place.

Well, today when I got in I saw that about half the snails were still upside down on the bottom of the tanks. So I waited until science, started passing out the *living* snails, and then went to clean out the snails.

They. Smelled. AWFUL!!! Some were even falling out of their shells and starting to decompose. TMI, I know, but trust me, I am sparing you the worst.

One of the children started complaining that their snail smelled really bad, so I checked it, and it was dead, as well. UGH!

This then prompted all the children to decide to smell the snails.

One said their smelled like lemon...hmmm....I didn't really know what to say to that one.

I finally threw the dead snails away when the children weren't looking. Thankfully, no one asked me what I did with the dead snails. The rest of the lesson went pretty well, for what it's worth.

I am SO not looking forward to introducing the Bess beetles and Pill Bugs next week!
haha

Anyway, one of my students has very bad separation anxiety. Last week this student had a couple of very good days. This week, the student has run out of my classroom multiple times, thrown himself on the floor in the hallway, and refused to do anything. He has basically lived with the principal the past few school days. I have been keeping strict documentation on him, but I have no idea what else to do. I have tried rewards, behavior charts, praising, ignoring, bribing, you name it. Hopefully I will find something for him to respond to, soon.

I have a different student who has ADHD. The past two weeks with this student have been great, but today I had trouble getting the student to write. I have heard that students with ADHD have difficulty writing. It even got to the point where the student was crying. I tried sitting with them, I wrote four things they could write about and asked them to cross off one (they didn't). I tried giving them a simple graphic organized (they refused to do it). I tried talking to them. I tried prompting them. Nothing. So I said we could take a break and try again after lunch. They wrote. And very well, I must say. This child is reading on a third grade level. It is confusing why they have such a hard time writing. Maybe they cannot get their thoughts on paper easily? I am not sure. They would not talk to me about it. I am going to research this, further.

I am going to revamp my reading groups for next week. Complete overhaul. I am finding that it just is not working for some students. I think they are at the centers for too long. So I am going to have them rotate around the room independently, while pulling my regularly scheduled reading groups. I am going to try the Daily 5 method, as well as having centers they can go to by choice. I am thinking having 3 must-do activities each day, and then having free choice after that. I have to do some research on this after I finish writing this, actually. haha. I will update when I figure out what I am going to do.

I am not sure when the work ever really ends for a teacher. I am getting slightly tired of going to school early, staying late, and bringing work home each and every single day. I don't know how to manage this work load in a way that isn't so overwhelming. I try taking time for myself, like taking time to work out each day.I just don't even seem to be able to watch a TV show anymore without doing school work. I am constantly multitasking with work. I wish I could figure out a more productive schedule that allows me some breaks. Who ever says teachers are overpaid should spend a week in my shoes.

With that said, I should really get back to working. haha