1. I took a few new pictures of some winter-y things in our room!
I already wrote about our snowman comparing activity, but since then, a few people at school were boggled by the display, so I added a title and took a nicer picture for you! I just printed out letters in a bubbly font and then cut them out. It was a little tedious but I am happy with the outcome!
2. I have been slacking on the Clutter-Free Classroom Project BUT I did want to update that I cleaned an area of my room!!!!!! I am super proud of myself.
Here is the before picture...
I am happy that this week in CFCP is working on our teacher area. Mine needs some help. :( My students tell me that almost every day....
3. I'll end with my dilemma. Today we started our new unit in Social Studies, which is Our Government. Because I teach at a Catholic school, my students come from very conservative families. That, in and of itself, obviously is fine! We did another vocab visit, like I did with matter, and I had printed a picture of President Obama, since he is our president. As soon as I put the sheets out to write on, I had a few students saying how much they hate Barack Obama, how their parents hate Barack Obama, that he doesn't want to have any schools anymore (???) and how he is a bad and terrible person.
This frustrates me on several levels, but mainly because regardless of how you feel about a president or his tenure in office, I think it's very important to instill in children that we respect leaders. So basically that's what I said... you can have your opinion, and that is totally fine, but we are not talking about how we feel about President Obama. He is our leader and he is important to our country.
Have you dealt with something like this? Or how would you have responded? I know I am going to be hearing this every day until I can figure out what to do. :(
Your new and improved space looks amazing!! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I have had this dilemma. And I've said basically the same thing you have. I wonder if parents really talk to their kids about this or if their little ears just hear EVERYTHING WE SAY! On the upside, at least your kids knew that Obama was our President! :)
A Teeny Tiny Teacher
His first year, the year he did the Nations Address to the schools....it was a BIG stink here!
ReplyDeleteAt that time, I had the PALS niece, and she came with a letter that morning that said "_______ is not to watch the address- she is to be focusing on important curricular activities"....and important was underlined......{someone was a sore loser:)}
Same thing though- you respect the position even if you don't agree with who is in it!
Staci
Going Nutty!
misssquirrels@yahoo.com
I so need to start decluttering my classroom - I was happy to get a few piles toned down today with my extra time.
ReplyDeleteI think your response to your kids was perfect ... wish more parents could read this! With my older kids I've done a quick re-lesson on fact versus opinion, and reinforce that we stick to the facts, only.
Jen
Runde's Room
Your corner looks wonderful! I've had a few comments like the one you mentioned in your post over the years and handled it like you, that he is our president, and therefore we should respect him.
ReplyDeleteI love your guided reading seats, I've been meaning to make them myself! :)
Lisa
Stories From Second
I really ought to get involved in that whole de-cluttering thing....your room looks amazing! Love the January quilt
ReplyDeleteRowdy in First Grade
Your room looks great! Your dilemma is so frustrating! I think you handled it perfectly - if it doesn't get better (which hopefully it does), maybe talk to parents about helping their child learn to respect people even if they have different opinions and beliefs than we do? Such a touchy subject!
ReplyDeleteI love your math quilt! It is so cute :) I think you handled your issue with the govt unit just the way I would. So difficult dealing with things that are not in your control.
ReplyDelete~Stephanie
Teaching in Room 6
ps, thanks for the super sweet message. Made my day :)