day 57

I feel a little bit like I've already checked out for Thanksgiving -- not academically with my kids, they are still working hard -- but in terms of energy and innovation. I am coasting into that four day weekend like its the biggest vacation of my life. The one upside is that I'm very calm.

I saw my two high groups in buddy reading today. Eli, who has been a terror since his twin siblings were born, is sharp as a tack. On the trick page, he sounded out "but" and "best" without any prompting. I was so proud of him! I have been working so hard with the lower groups that I forgot how far the higher groups have come. I can't wait to test them again after Thanksgiving. Sometimes guided reading is harder than whole group because they are a little harder to control, but it makes me feel like we are headed somewhere. A teacher who has one of my old students, the floor sweeper, complimented me on his reading skills -- something stuck!

During lunch five or six of my girls from last year told me that they want to come back to my class. When I told them they were too smart for me, they told me that they were learning take-aways.

In other news, N hit another girl. In the face. He had a rough morning with me and then apparently reccess didn't go so well either.

Have you ever read The Bear Snores On? If not, read it. It's such a lovely book about a bear sleeping through a party in his lair. My students told me where their lairs were (DuckDuck: behind his dresser). Then, I told them mine is the library, but what I really meant was the Art Library at Wellesley.