Nathan Rick and Alisa Lou

Costumes, Letters, Magic Ovens, and Things

2009-10-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

Kindergartners take everything you say literally as a teacher. Sometimes it's a compliment because it shows that they really do get something out of school. Sometimes it's just funny, and sometimes it can be frustrating for others. For example, yesterday I told the kindergartners to make sure that their parents saw our October newsletter. That way they would be sure to know what was going on at school, and would also have a calendar of important events, like the Halloween parade where they would get to wear their costume to school. Shela, however, didn't quite understand what I meant.
Shela was under the impression that we were doing the Halloween parade the next day, meaning today. She was sure of it-- her teacher said so. She was so sure of it that she was not going to put on her clothes today. No ifs, ands, or buts about it... she would only wear her costume. Nothing her mother said could convince her. So, they called the school and Shela talked to the secretary- but the secretary was not her teacher, and therefore, not a valid source of information. She was still not going to school in regular clothes. So, during lunch time, I got to call Shela to tell her that today was not the day to wear her costume. Her answer was simply, "I think I got a little mixed up." :)
I told Shela she should probably not wear her costume today, but if she'd like to, she was welcome to draw me a picture of it. She was a few minutes late to class simply because it took her a little while to get in all the details on her picture. I told the rest of the class that they could also draw me a picture if they'd like. Several others assured me, "I can't wait! I'll be drawing you a picture!"

Kindergartners also have a very magical imagination. Each day this year, I have been having one letter of the alphabet visit our classroom each day. I did this last year, but this year I actually found pictures of the "Letter People" series that I grew up with. So, one of these letters "knocks" on our door each day and introduces themselves. The kids live for this. They peek out the door to see when the letter is coming. They are on pins and needles waiting for the knock, and they cheer when they arrive and welcome them, "We're so glad you're here letter __." They also get frustrated when the letter is late (like on review days) or forgets to come.

I hadn't realized how seriously they took it though until I talked to one parent today to find out that not only did her son talk about the letters like they were real people, but that he also prays for them at night. :) I guess I'd better not let him down.

This same kindergartner also was amazed by our fundraiser assembly yesterday. The woman that taught the students about the cookies had a "magic oven." She would put the cookie dough in her oven, and instantly (after saying the magic words), a batch of baked cookies would come out. Briggs was easily fooled. During recess he told me, "I wish I had a magic oven like that. That would be awesome."

And then, just to show that you never quite know what is running through a child's brain he said, "There's a fat girl in first grade. Not like the Statue of Liberty, huh Mrs. Mulder."

Are you pregnant...er... anorexic?

2009-08-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

For the last few months, I have been seeing the doctor to help me gain weight. Since my mission, I have been under the impression that I have been losing it and that I look rather anorexic. Apparently it's all in my head. Today a parent at the assessments asked me, "Are you pregnant?"

I think I'm going to cancel that next doctor's appointment.

And back to kindergarten...

2009-08-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

So, after a few months of nothingness, this afternoon I had the most incredible urge to blog. For the last couple of months, every time I sit down to blog, I have had nothing to write about. Until today... when I returned to kindergarten.

This week I am responsible for assessing all of my kindergartners. Most of us, when we go in for a test take it very seriously and don't ask a lot of questions. But then again, most of us aren't five.

Me: "Okay, Kody, I am going to tell you a math problem. You can use the blocks in front of you to solve it."
Kody: Okay.
Me: So, here's my problem, "I had five balls..."
Kody: Why?
Me: It's just part of the problem. Keep listening. So I had five balls, I gave two to my friend..."
Kody: Why?!?
Me: Just keep listening. I had five balls, I gave two to my friend. How many do I have left?
Kody: (after counting all of the blocks in front of him, of which there were ten) Five!

Me: Now that you've told me the letters, we're going to look at the sounds that the letters make. What sound does this letter make?
Brigham: That's an A.
Me: It is an A, what sound does it make?
Brigham: That's an A like alligator.
Me: It does start alligator. What sound does it make?
Brigham: Chop, chop, chop!

Apparently, my directions were not very clear.

I'm a little nervous now about kindergarten starting. After training my last group so well, I kind of wish I had them back. But then again, maybe I trained them too well. While walking past a first grade classroom today, I overheard a first grader say, "Miss Parrish wouldn't like that. You need to stop." At least I know my influence is still felt.

Meet RickyJoe

2009-07-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Nathan Rick... the one that I lovingly call RickyJoe (and keep in mind, he only lets his wife call him that :) is now an official part of the my life, and therefore, this blog!

Nathan and I have been married for almost three weeks now, and it is amazing to see how quickly time has gone by! And so today, I am short on time (partly because I'm having to use a library computer right now in order to have access the internet), but I just thought I'd welcome Ricky Joe to the blog! And to all my readers... meaning.... Ian-- look forward to me finally getting around to some new updates!

I also want to send out a special thank you to all of the wonderful friends and family members that were able to make our wedding day so special. Thank you for all of you support! It means more than you could know!

I Gotta Blog

2009-04-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those days in kindergarten that reminds me, "I need to blog a whole lot more... this stuff is good."

While on recess duty yesterday, I had two children come up to me to report that a little boy in the first grade had flipped them off. This did not surprise me. This child has some special challenges... and he's always getting himself into trouble. Despite this fact, he is really a super cute kid. I called him over to talk to him about it and he denied it, of course, in front of his witnesses. So, instead we talked about what it means to use kind words and how we show kindness through our actions. At this point, I asked him, "So, can you promise me that you will never do it again?"
"Yeah, I promise." He then went to make a pinky promise, only to accidentally flip off the teacher. The best part was, he looked down at his hand, saw what he had done, and looked up in total shock and bewilderment, honestly wondering, "How did that get there?"
I didn't take offense, but I'm pretty sure that verified the fact that he was guilty! He then used his other hand to manipulate his fingers correctly for a pinky promise and assured me he would never do it again. :)

During the middle of our math lesson, I let one of my students, Byron go to use the restroom. The bathroom for the kindergarten is at the back side of our coat closet, and the wall between the classroom and the bathroom apparently isn't that thick. As I was attempting to teach, all of my students looked over at the wall to listen to what was apparently a five year old boy, serenading his class,

"My name is Byron! My name is Byron!
And I'm a boy! Yeah I'm a boy!
And I'm five ! I'm five!"

Yeah... I kind of had to remind him that we use quiet voices in the bathroom... I don't think he ever knew we could hear every word.

Rick... oh how do you say your name?

2009-04-06T22:17:00.000-07:00

We're getting a house, and we had our offer accepted! When that happened, Nathan called the school, and they used the intercom to tell me. I answered with a big "Woo hoo!" When my kids asked me about it, I told them that their teacher was buying a house so that now she'll have a place to live when she gets married.

"Does that mean we call you Mrs. Molar now?"

For some reason, my students don't quite get how this whole marriage/change your name thing works. I am often asked this question... when I got engaged, when Nathan comes to visit, and when we decide to buy a house. And even more than that, they can't say Mulder... I'm going to be called after a large tooth for a large portion of my life. And my initials will be ARM. *sigh*

Even better than that though is that the name is Dutch, and my grandma knows how to say it and I can't. That's right... as of June 18th, my "I know how to say my own name" skills will be gone. Gone! It really is a big blow to your confidence when you realize you can't pronounce your own name.

That's okay, Rick can't say it either. :)

Communicating.... is.... hard

2009-04-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

At parent teacher conferences a few weeks ago, I was asked by a parent, "could you please send home a reminder next time there is a day off of school? This last Friday, I had no idea there wasn't any school."

I thought this was an interesting comment, but tried to be kind in my response...

"Did you get this newsletter that I sent home at the beginning of the month?"
"Yes, I did get that."
"Okay, well, if you look right here under the announcements, you'll see that I have listed any days that we do not have school that month, including the day last week. Also, there's a calendar on the back of the newsletter that also marks those days. I always send this home each month, so keep an eye out for that. If you miss that though, I also put it on the homework. Did you get Kayla's homework last week?"
"Yes, I always read through her homework."
"Well, it's was written there to remind you to return the homework earlier this week. Also, have you gotten the school newsletter?"
"Yes, I did get that."
"They also put a list of important dates in the school newsletter. In fact, the school also sent home a neon pink note last week reminding the parents about the days off of school."
"I don't think I got that."
"Okay, well it's also listed on the marquee in front of the school, and if all else fails, the school calendar that was sent home at the beginning of the year is also on the school website, and I also have our kindergarten calendar on our class website that has all of the dates listed on there."

"I don't have the internet."

Immediately I wondered, "But can you read?" and then realized that this is probably my fault. Maybe I should have sent something home. :)

Shhh...

2009-04-06T22:01:00.000-07:00

I have a student from SLCC that comes to teach a lesson in my class every now and then. When she's teaching, I usually sit among my students to help them remember to behave (proximity is everything). This last time, while reminding one of my sprawling children to sit up, I was reminded by one of my kindergartners, (one that is constantly... as in 15 thousand times a day... having to be reminded to pay attention.) "Miss Parrish, Shhhh... We gotta be quiet!"

Rick-ochet is Stylin!

2009-04-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

Rick has his own sense of style. Either that, or he might have possibly forgotten his church shoes when going to Syracuse to watch conference with my family. That's okay though, since it seems that the style is infectious. To be sure that he didn't feel left out, Roo and Tim joined in by wearing their tenny's too. We could write a book about this... Tennis shoes among the Brethren...

The House

2009-04-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

We're buying a house! I never expected to own my own home so soon, but it's happening! Nathan and I are in the process of closing on our very first home! Nathan will move in first, and then I will move in when we're married in June. June 18th to be exact....

We're so excited!

It's true. I really am becoming a real person. I've graduated from college. I've gone on a mission. I have a real job. I'm getting married. I'm buying a house. I once asked a friend, "How does it feel to be real? Does it hit all at once, or is it like the Velveteen Rabbit?" Well, I think Real really is like the Velveteen rabbit. Sometimes it hurts, and sometimes it's hard... and sometimes it's just plain wonderful!

And right now... I guess I'll just enjoy the fact that things seem to be working out right now. And it's wonderful!

Working... on something

2009-04-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

In kindergarten, there is a half hour set aside every day for something we call "workshop time." This is a special time where the teacher takes some children aside for small group instruction, and the other children sit quietly at their desks to work on seatwork and other games/activities to reinforce the things that they are learning.

Well, that's the idea anyway. We're still working on the quietly... and the sitting... and the working...and the learning too. In other words, we're a work in progress.

A few weeks ago, my friend Max, blessed child that he is, sat quietly at workshop time, coloring his work, and glancing occasionally at his teacher out of the corner of his eye. Convinced that I was not watching, he then leapt out of his chair and pretended to karate chop/fight/attack some unknown, imaginary being. Finishing his fight, he glanced back at me, jumped back into his chair, and pretended to work again. This happened a few minutes later... and a few minutes later, until finally I called out, "Max! Sit down!"

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be in a five year old's brain again?

Surprise- it's almost your birthday!

2009-02-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to catch up a little bit on my blog. Nathan kind of pointed out the fact that I have not been the most faithful blogger since, well, he found my blog! That's kind of true. I'm not so sure it's because he found my blog so much as that since then I've been a little busy.

Well, my birthday is coming up, and Nathan, the ultimate planner has been working hard on my gift. He has given me plenty of updates on that, without telling me what it is, "I've been cutting wood today." Or "I was painting and gluing today." He's done a pretty good job of keeping it secret.

The birthday comes next week, and so yesterday, the boy who cannot keep secrets could bear it no longer. He gave it to me yesterday. This picture is really bad simply because my camera's battery was dying, and so I had to take the picture super fast before it turned off. So, it's a bit out of focus.

He made me my very own little school house to decorate my classroom with! How cute is that? Underneath each of the foam pieces of "carpet" is a picture of the two of us together. And underneath the chalk board is one of our engagement pictures. If you can't read the chalkboard it says, "Welcome to Mrs. Mulder's Class." Yeah... I think he might be a little excited about getting married. Just a little bit. ;)

The Reaction

2009-02-23T17:29:00.001-08:00

Six year olds are awesome! I'm learning more about this stage of development every single day.

Nathan comes in to volunteer in our classroom quite a bit. I think it's because he's a saint. So, my children are fairly familiar with him. By that, I mean that the last time he came walking into my classroom, one of my students was so excited to see him, he fell right out of his chair! "Mr. Mulder!" They like him.

So, last week, I told my students that I had gotten engaged. Riley guessed right off, "to Mr. Mulder?" To that, Emanuel chimed in, "You're gonna marry Mr. Mulder? I think I'm gonna be sick!" A few minutes later he asked me, "You didn't kiss him, did ya?" I just asked him, "What do you think?" In both classes, I got a resounding, "Ewww!"

Well, the students got over their initial disgust, but it still seems to be sinking in. The next day, I had one little boy decide that if I was engaged yesterday, I must be married today. So, he concluded, my name is now changed to Mrs. Mulder. Not yet, buddy!

And then there was Rylee. Rylee is an adorable little girl and she is girly to the core. She wears cute hair ribbons that match her outfit. She always chooses pink paper when given the choice, and she only plays with other little girls. She also did not think it was gross that I was getting married. She wanted to see the ring. :)

Well, Rylee's mom comes in to volunteer in our classroom, and so she told me what Rylee had said when she had gotten home. She told her mom that I was getting married. Her mom asked her if I had a pretty ring, and she told her mom that yes, it was very pretty. And then she thought for awhile and came back to her mom, "They're going to get married and then they'll probably have kids, huh?"

Her mom answered, "yeah, they will, and Miss Parrish probably won't teach anymore."

"She won't? Well, Mr. Mulder can stay home with the kids!"

"Well, Rylee, it wouldn't matter anyway because by then you won't be in kindergarten anymore and she wouldn't be your teacher anyway."

"She won't?"
And so now we begin breaking the children in to the tragic reality of life. We can only shield and protect them for so long. At some point, they have to be faced with the harsh facts:

Your kindergarten teacher is not your teacher for life.

I guess it's about time to start talking about it anyway-- it's going to take a couple of months for it to sink in for some of them. :)

I'm getting married!

2009-02-22T12:47:00.000-08:00

I'm getting married. It's true. If you had told me at the beginning of the school year that I would be engaged by February, I would have told you that you were crazy. But even though I thought it was far-fetched, I've been well prepared. For those of you that have been faithfully reading this blog, you might recall one of my kindergartners drawing me a picture of my future husband. It looked like this:

It turns out that Clarissa may have been on to something, because I found that man I was looking for, and although the picture she drew may not have been a perfect likeness of either of us, it was pretty close... the huge smiles on our faces are the same in both the drawing and in real life.

Last Saturday, Nathan and I had a wonderful day together. That morning he drove up to Syracuse to talk to my parents about marrying me, and then that afternoon we went to the Draper temple open house together. From there, we headed over to the Jordan River Temple where we did a session together. When we came out, Nathan pulled out a red scarf and blindfolded me so that I couldn't see where I was going. I already knew though. :)

He drove me up to the capital, and walked me right up to the spot where he first danced with me and where he first told me that he loved me. He then took off the blindfold and danced with me again, to Peter Breinholdt's "Grow Old With Me." That's one of my favorites. We finished dancing and he knelt down in the freezing cold snow and asked me to marry him. I said yes!!

I can't believe it! I'm getting married!

As a little girl, I often wondered about who I would marry and what he would be like. Now I don't have to wonder anymore... and I feel peace about this decision. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I'm excited!

Well, we may not look exactly like Clarissa's drawing, but we're both pretty happy. Here's a picture of us just after we got engaged. This is at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, where he took me to dinner afterwards. The ring can't be seen very well in this picture, but it's beautiful. He picked it out himself and I am impressed! If I could have chosen it myself, I probably would have picked this very one.

I Think He Likes Me

2009-02-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning was Valentine's Day for my kindergartners. We were all super excited about the Pretty Princess and cool Transformer Valentine's Day cards. I put up red streamers over the door where the kids come in and put out their Valentine envelopes. I even dolled myself up in pink and red like a true elementary school teacher.

Nathan didn't forget this special occasion either. Instead, he came in early to surprise me- and surprise me he did! I knew he was coming because he called me the night before to tell me not to eat breakfast. What I didn't expect is that he would get the teacher next door to let him into my classroom. So, I show up at school a few minutes later than I planned, as usual. I go to open my door of my normally empty classroom, and there is Nathan standing right there with flowers, chocolates, and a big fuzzy teddy bear. It scared me so much, I let out a shriek! He brought me breakfast of toaster strudels and chocolate milk and we ate our breakfast in my tiny little kindergarten chairs.

I think he likes me.

My kids noticed the flowers when they came in and asked me who they were from. When I told them where they came from, one child said, "He's a nice guy." Another child chimed in, "Yeah, he is a nice guy."

The Substitute

2009-02-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

I left them today. All 23 of them.
I had a collaboration meeting for half a day and so I had a substitute teacher for the morning session of kindergarten .
My children have heard about substitutes.
I told them about substitute teachers.
But they've never had one.
Until today.

I knew this would be a shock.
I warned them.
I told them it would be okay.
I told them that things would be different, but that's okay.
I told them I would be back and it would be okay.
I assured myself it would be okay.

The collaboration meeting wasn't very far away. It was just in the library.
I made sure to stop by in the morning and remind the students that I would be back the next day. Then, I came back for the last few minutes to get them ready to go.
Most of my kids did pretty well. They listened to their teacher and did their work.
Others didn't do so well.
Three children faked sick.
Two children clung to me as I entered the room, assuring me they missed me.
One child wet her pants.
One little boy had such a hard time with the fact that the teacher didn't do things exactly like me that he cried. And cried. And gave himself a headache and had to call home.

And I'm going to China for a week? I must be nuts.

The funny thing is, I missed my kids too. Even though sometimes I really need a break, if my kids are in school, I would rather be teaching. And so, it's funny, but it was quite a relief to be done with collaboration and be back in my classroom teaching my kindergartners. I'm going to be okay... I get to go back to kindergarten.

I miss you Meshach!

2009-01-27T21:23:00.000-08:00

My life lately has kind of reminded me of a book called "If you give a mouse a cookie." So, I've written my own version of the story called, "If the window on Nathan's car breaks."

Sunday was Dad's birthday dinner. Nathan and I decided to go up to Syracuse for his birthday dinner, but the very afternoon we chose to do that, the window of his car fell off of its track so that he couldn't roll it back up again. And so we begin...

If the window on Nathan's car breaks, you might decide that it is too cold and wet and snowy to take his car all the way to Syracuse. You may decide that your car is a better option and take it instead.

If you choose to take your own car instead, you might get to about North Salt Lake before your car overheats and you have to pull over to the side of the road. You may decide that you can't drive any further for fear of ruining your engine and choose to call your Dad (remember how it was his birthday) to ask him to tow you home.

If you choose to call your Dad and ask him to tow you home, you may have to wait inside your cold wet car for about an hour and a half while your parents drive down to come and save the day. While you are there, you may decide that you should have put up with the broken window in the first place. When your parents tow you home, your dad may let you take their car down to Salt Lake so that you can get to work. You may decide that is a great idea and take the car.

If your Dad chooses to let you take the car, you may try to take good care of it and make sure that all of the doors are locked before you go to bed. And then the next morning, you may discover that the locks on the doors are very hard to open... meaning you can't. You may choose to call Nathan to come and give you a ride to work instead.

If you choose to get a ride to work from Nathan, you may realize that you don't have any way to get home. You may also realize that the only one that knows how to unlock the car is your dad. So you may choose to call him to pick you up from work and drive you home to unlock the door.
If you call your Dad to come and help you unlock the door, he may be able to get the door open. Only, after getting the door open, you might find out that the door has gotten some water in it from the night before, is frozen solid, and refuses to shut again. The two of you may decide that the door needs to be warmed up so that the ice can melt. You may choose to ask your roommate to trade you places so that you can leave your car in the garage.

If you choose to put your car in the garage, you might also put a lamp inside the car and leave it on all night so that it can warm up the car. You may discover, however, that because the door won't shut, the overhead light in your car is also on. The only way to get it to turn off is to lean something against the door to keep the door shut and the light off. You do this, and go to bed, hoping that your car will work in the morning.

If you choose to put a lamp in your car all night, the next morning your car door with finally shut! However, you might also discover that the heavy object you put against the door wasn't heavy enough. Your overhead light may have been on all night and now your car might not start. You may choose to call Nathan again to come and save the day.

If you choose to call Nathan to save the day, you may discover once again that you have no way to get home from work. So, Nathan might have to come pick you up during his work break, and sacrifice his dinner and drive you home to try to jumpstart your car. On the way there, he may tell you that he fixed the window on his car so that it cannot fall down again. You may choose to breathe a sigh of relief, happy to hear that your troubles might end soon.

Or at least we hope! Let's all hope that Meshach returns home safe and sound. We miss you Meshach!

Toleration

2009-01-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

Kindergartners are much more tolerant of others. I learned that today... and I continue to learn it every day in our little classroom.

The other day I was teaching penmanship, and one of my students fell out of his chair. That's right, just fell right over. This is not an odd occurence. It happens just about every day. My reaction is usually simply, "Well, climb back in your chair."
At that moment, I stopped to think, "What if an adult sitting in my classroom had just done that?" For one thing, the other people in the room would have noticed. It would have been a concern. And if it turned out that the person had simply fallen out of her chair simply because she was wiggling so much that she had lost her balance, the adults around her may have considered getting her some help--- psychiatric help. Not so in kindergarten-- you just keep on working as if nothing happened at all.

Or how about when Ryan put his coat on upside down today and complained because he couldn't get his backpack on. The coat was hanging totally up on end with his hood hanging down by his knees, and what was Ryan was saying? "Miss Parrish, I can't get my backpack on." I looked at him and said, "That's probably because your coat is on upside down."
This got no response, other than the fact that Ryan was spinning around in circles trying to catch his other backpack strap. Finally, I stopped him and told him, "Ryan, you need to take your coat off and put it on right side up." He did so... only because he knew he had to because his teacher made him do it- not because it bothered him that his coat was on upside down. The other children either did not notice or else it didn't bother them.

That's tolerance.

But some things cannot be tolerated. Not even by kindergartners.

Today during small group instruction, I was interrupted by a student. Usually, I encourage the students to work independently- and only interrupt me if they are dying or going to wet their pants or someone is badly hurt. The girl assured me this fit under the category of "important." It did.

"Tupu is putting crayons up his nose."
"What?!? Tupu! Come over here!"

"Are you putting crayons up your nose?"
"Yes." Simple response. There was no shame. Not even a little bit.
"Don't put crayons up your nose!" I said this as firmly as I could... under the ridiculous circumstances, it was hard not to laugh.

That afternoon, the students in my p.m. class asked me why Tupu had gotten his card pulled. I told them why, and one little boy responded by saying, "You got to be kidding me!"
Like I said, some things even kindergartners can't tolerate.

Paisley

2009-01-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

It is now a new year. 2009, if you will.
In honor of such a fantastic new year, I found an awesome background for my blog. As the Boy would say, "Paisley is amazing."

The Doctor Visit

2009-01-02T21:52:00.000-08:00

Going to the doctor is a significant event in my life. If asked at any given time, I can count off on my fingers individually the number of doctor visits I have had... and the traumatic experiences that accompanied them. I don't see the doctor often, unless I'm sure that I am dying or my mother makes me. This time it was the latter.

I'm not dying... I've just been slowly and surely losing weight until I look... well, bony. Does this concern me? A lot. So much that I've talked about it a lot. You see, if you never go to the doctor, there's nothing wrong with you. And if you talk about it a lot, eventually it will just go away. Mom doesn't agree with me, and since we both kind of thought I brought home some happy little parasites from Taiwan, off I went to the doctor.

The picture shown here is a little extreme, only because of the intense contrast of the fat kid on the right.

You know what that doctor told me? (Besides telling me that they needed to take my blood- which I survived, in case you were curious or worried.) He told me that I have a high metabolism (yeah... didn't figure that one out on my own), that I need to drink only whole milk (check, been doing that), that I need to drink instant breakfast in the morning (double check), and that I need to eat a lot of carbs (hmmm... do I eat anything else? Oh wait, I do. It's called chocolate). So, I basically got told that the doctor totally approves of my current diet of fatty goodness, though I'm not sure exactly what it's going to change... other than maybe helping Rick gain a little extra weight in support! :)

Sing-a-long Blizzards

2008-12-20T07:49:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was my first Holiday Sing-a-long. This is a big event at my school each year. Each grade level in the school prepares two songs that they will sing for the rest of the school. We sit in a really big circle around the gym and take turns singing. At the end, Santa comes to visit, and the principal read them a story in his pajamas because they had done so well for their fundraiser.
Well, as much fun as this sounds, it made me a little nervous. That was mostly because I had to have both of my kindergarten classes come in the morning at the same time. Check out those ratios--- 46 five year olds: 1 teacher. Luckily, I was able to get a couple of parent volunteers to help out, but even so, that's a lot of five year olds to fit into my classroom.
So, the singing went great, even though a few of my children chose to wear their reindeer antlers upside down on their heads like a pair of construction paper side burns. I think that made it all the more endearing.
The best part of the whole program though definitely had to be the bathroom breaks. You see, they had our class in the corner of the gym where the only possible way to easily exit would be through the door leading to the outside. That's fine most of the time. Only yesterday, we just happened to be having blizzard like conditions out there, with wind blowing the snow into big drifts and flying it in your face and such. So, imagine a five year old and his teacher hopping through snow drifts just to go to the bathroom. One little boy asked me, "Why is there a blizzard out here Miss Parrish?" So I told him, "Well, that's what happens when you have to go to the bathroom during the holiday sing-a-long. Sometimes you have to run through a blizzard."
Luckily, I only did this twice. After that, I told any child that had to go to the bathroom, "Yes, you may go, but only if you're willing to run through a blizzard to get there." "Oh, you can hold it?" "Great!"

Smiles

2008-12-17T21:58:00.000-08:00

This morning I was making my copies in the copy room when I had a visitor show up. If you want to, you can take a guess at who it was, but I don't think you'll have to guess very hard. That's right-- it was Nathan!!

He stood there in the doorway holding flowers. Not just any flowers though. They were my favorite kind- tulips. I love tulips. I think that they just seem so good and clean and pure. And these ones were red, perfect for celebrating the birth of the Savior.

If he was looking for a smile on my face, he got it. As a nice additional bonus, he also got smiles from a lot of other people as well. As we walked down the hallway back to my classroom, it was fun to watch as people would see Nathan, see the flowers, and then would smile. It made a lot of people's day!

I don't have a mom

2008-12-17T21:53:00.000-08:00

Christmas is almost here, and in kindergarten, we are getting ready for the great Holiday Sing-a-long on Friday. We have been practicing our songs, and they are sounding great! In preparation of this big event, today we invited any parents that would like to to come hear the children sing in class. However, some of the children were concerned that their parents weren't going to come, even though we talked about how this was a practice and they didn't need to come. So, to make them feel better, I told them, "That's okay, my mom's not coming either."
The whole class seemed to answer to that at once, "You don't have a mom!"
I assured them that I did- every one has a mom.
And expecting that to make sense to them, I was surprised to hear them come back again, "Silly teacher, you don't have a mom!"

That's right-- no mom for me. No wonder she wasn't there to hear me sing.

Give Me a White Christmas!

2008-12-16T20:59:00.000-08:00

One of my students went to Mexico for Christmas. She is going to be gone for three weeks. The best part is, the person who told me was not her mother, and it was not her. I found this out from a first grader on the playground.... and then her mother called the next day. It's amazing what you can learn at recess. The kids in her class asked me where she was today, so I told them that she went to Mexico. This started an interesting conversation with one of my students, Loi.
"Cheacher, why did she go to Mexico?"
"Her family went to Mexico to celebrate Christmas with her family."
"There's no snow in Mexico."
"That's right, Loi."
"What the?"

Christmas without snow? Do they even bother to celebrate Christmas without snow? I just don't know. The best part is, Loi's family is from Samoa... land of the white Christmases.

The pictures I put up are from my backyard. If all winter days could be this beautiful, I think I'd like winter more.

I've Been Found!

2008-12-10T22:26:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official... my blog has been found. In the past six weeks or so, I have put up a number of entries about Nathan, and felt totally comfortable writing absolutely anything I wanted to about him, since he wasn't reading it. Well, I guess that's changed, but I will try to convince myself that it didn't really happen--- just so I can keep writing my true thoughts and feelings. Try. It's like being observed... I'm being watched!

So, this past week was Sinterklaas, and what an awesome Sinterklaas it was! I love Sinterklaas! In my family, we have this wonderful tradition, where all of the gifts that we give at Sinterklaas are either service gifts or cheap... meaning dollar store cheap. This rule was invented with the intent to encourage us, as family members, to be more service oriented. It has resulted instead, in a lot of gag gifts. The best part is, in order to give a gift, you have to write a poem about why you are giving it. Unfortunately, this year I ran a little short on time, and therefore, I didn't get my poems finished. My other family members, however, did a fabulous job!
Nathan came along to my house for Sinterklaas, and as part of Sinterklaas, he was given a gift by Chelsea and her boyfriend, Robert. They had decided that it is too confusing to have so many Nathans in the family, and so we needed to change Nathan's name. So, they gave him a file folder, with a name change application in it, informing him that until his name is changed, his default name is now Rick. My family called him Rick for the rest of the weekend...and will probably continue to do so until he really does fill out the form and return it to my sister.
So, maybe I shouldn't worry at all about what I'm writing on this blog about Nathan... it's just Rick that's reading it anyway. ;)

True Love

2008-12-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, my friend Tiffany (another one of the awesome teachers at my school) e-mailed to ask me when they would get to meet Nathan. I e-mailed her back and said, "I'm not sure when you'll meet Nathan... but if things keep going well, there will probably be a day where I convince him to come and volunteer in kindergarten. Now that's true love." Her e-mail back simply said, "Ha! Yes that is!!!!!!!!"

Well, today was the day! Nathan volunteered for the whole morning session of kindergarten. I had him write down kindergarten spotlights, play letter games and math games with the kids, and then he got to join with the kids in center time. I'm glad he could stay for center time. Let's be honest, it's the best part of the day! Right now, my dramatic play area is set up as an airport. We have a ticket station (the children have to write out their own destinations on their tickets), a large map, suitcases, and our own "airplane," complete with seats for a pilot, copilot, and four passengers.
Today, there were four boys sent to the airport, and Nathan chose to join those four boys for the time of their life. I don't know if there really is anything much cuter than a grown man playing with children.... nope, can't think of much. I think the thing that I took the most delight in seeing was the complete adoration on the boys' faces. They were thrilled.

Scattergory Tag

2008-12-02T18:07:00.001-08:00

Hia tagged me... so here I go...
SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things. Nothing made up! You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

WHAT IS YOUR NAME: Alisa
BOY NAME: Adam Aaron Alexander
GIRL NAME: Annalisa Angelique
OCCUPATION: Actress
COLOR: Aqua
SOMETHING YOU WEAR: An Applique
BEVERAGE: Apple Juice
FOOD: Almonds
SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Aftershave
A PLACE: Albuquerque
REASON FOR BEING LATE: Anesthesiologist Appointment
SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: Act now for this limited time offer!

People on a Square

2008-12-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

Nathan and I went down to see the Christmas lights turned on at Temple Square on Friday. It was the first time I've ever been there to actually see them turned on, and it's kind of interesting. You see, they turn them on fairly early-- about five thirtyish. And when they turn them on, there really aren't that many people around. But about 15 minutes after they turn the lights on, it's as if there is another switch labeled, "People." When that switch is turned on, it immediately switches from, 'some people wandering around on Temple Square,' to 'all of Utah crowding en masse on Temple Square.' So what I want to know is--- where do they keep that switch?

We were there last week too, but I never wrote about it. I guess this is as good of a time as any! Thanks to my cousin, Julie, we were able to get tickets to a bell concert at the Tabernacle. It was all Christmas songs and was excellent. It's amazing what you can do with a simple bell. You also gain a great respect for the pioneers after spending some time in the Tabernacle. Respect for their willpower in being able to sit on painful wooden benches for sustained periods of time. It's just incredible.

Dignity

2008-12-01T17:43:00.001-08:00

I love to sing with my kindergartners. I love to dance with my kindergartners. Kindergarten is a good place for me simply because I can do what I love most and the more I act like an idiot, the more my children love it. Or at least so I thought.
Today we learned a new song in kindergarten. This song was a highly requested song last year. It not only taught important reading skills, but also included some seriously fun dancing. However, today as I encouraged the children to join me in my ridiculous dance, I was caught off guard by a comment, "Apparently, I don't have any dignity."

That's right-- a five year old was too grown up to dance with us.

Dignity-- apparently I don't have a shred left. :) I kept dancing.

And you know what, once Teuili started dancing, I caught him smiling-- with dignity.

Ha! The mentor is getting observed!

2008-11-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

Last night I talked to Nathan over the phone, and related to him all my stress about having to be observed. For some reason, it doesn't bother me to have people watch me teach... unless they are there to critique my teaching, and they sit in the back with a clipboard. Then, it's awful. That's what happened on Monday. My mentor brought some lady from the district to observe all of us new teachers--- and it was awful.
Well, this morning I was getting ready for school to start and making copies and whatnot, when Susan, the secretary, comes in to tell me that there is a young man that has come to visit me! That's right, after class, he came over to the school to see me. Not only that, but he had brought a gift, which he called, the "Observation Bear." It was a large, soft teddy bear, carrying two rulers that read, "Observation Bear" in sparkly glittery letters. He told me that he'd put him up somewhere in my classroom, and then next time I got observed, the bear would observe them and that he would only have nice things to say about me, unless they said mean things about me, and then he would say mean things about them!
It was really cute, and the cutest part had much less to do with the fact that he came over this morning. The cutest part, I think, was realizing that he was listening to what I was saying last night. And cared enough to come up with a "solution," and that at eleven o'clock last night, he was at Wal-Mart buying a teddy bear and making rulers with glittery letters on it for some girl to overcome her irrational fears. And just thinking of him being so excited to surprise me this morning....now that's the cutest part.

I told the children that the bear had come to observe them-- and to see all of the nice things that they do for each other in our classroom. We had a lesson on Thanksgiving today and on gratitude. So, we passed the bear around and told him what we were thankful for. I told the bear about how thankful I was for my kindergartners. They really liked that. I think the bear gives them kind of a secure feeling.... maybe it's just me.

Baking cookies

2008-11-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

I have a problem. There are two kindergarten lovebirds in my class, and nothing I do seems to be deterring them. It's a problem of young love. Really, really, really young love.
While watching these children though, and in my conversations with other five year olds, I am learning a lot about life. For example: If you like somebody, or if someone else likes somebody, don't be afraid to talk about it.

I have included a number of quotes below t0 illustrate exactly what I mean by that:

"You're my girlfriend. That means you kiss me on the lips."
(This is a comment made about 2.2 seconds before your teacher separates you from that girlfriend.... for life.)
-Byron, 5

"But, Miss Parrish, I like girls." (Byron's defense after being separated from his girlfriend for life)

"He held my hand. He's my boyfriend."
-Calley, 5

"I like him. I'm going to sit by him!" (To which your teacher responds, "Oh, no you're not!)
-Calley, 5

"Do you love her? Are you going to marry her? Have you kissed her? "
-Erin, 10

"Nathan's got a giiiiiiiirl friend!!"
-Lana, 5

"Oh! Gross! He kissed her!" (Another child in the class, speaking of Byron kissing Calley)

With that said, I guess it's time I said something about myself.

I'm baking cookies. I really am. And it's about time.

KYHFOOTY!

2008-11-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

At our elementary school, there is a rule called KYHFOOTY. This is an acronym for "Keep Your Hands, Feet and Other Objects to Yourself." It's an important rule, and a lot of things can fit under this rule, including: hitting, kicking, pushing, punching, poking, putting others in head locks, wrestling, etc. We had a lot of KYHFOOTY problems in my class yesterday, with children pestering one another constantly.... remember my police threat? It's okay though, because kindergartners do not hold grudges. Which leads me to today's problem.

Kissing.

That's right, we're just sitting there in the middle of our reading lesson, practicing our letter D sounds, when one little girl leaned over and kissed another little boy smack on the lips. Unfortunately, rather than having the shocked expression I expected, he kissed her back! So, these two were happy as clams, and I not only had to separate them, but then we had to discuss some serious facts of life:

It kind of went like this, "Boys and girls, we need to follow kyhfooty in school. We are not allowed to kiss our friends!"
Children, "Gross!"
Me: "I know, gross, huh?"
Children: "My mom and dad kiss."
Me: "Yes, but they are moms and dads. We do NOT kiss friends at school."
Children: "Augh! Gross!"
Me: "Exactly."

I'm hoping that I put enough emphasis on this subject that it will remain in their psyche for years to come. KYHFLOOTY!

I had to.

2008-11-13T21:34:00.000-08:00

This morning I had a lot to do before school started. That means more work than I really had time for. But don't worry, my kindergartners started a fight on the playground before school, so instead of doing that work, I was having to be down at the office, dealing with unruly children.

So, here's the basic interview process when talking to kindergartners about fighting...

"So, would you like to tell me what happened?"
Child A: "I fighted him and he fought back!"

That's right. That was this child's argument for why he should not be responsible for what happened. Then, I turned to the other child.

"So, would you like to tell me what happened?"
Child B: "He hit me, and so I had to hit him back!"

Hitting him back including repeatedly slamming his backpack over the other child's head. Had to. There weren't other options. HAD TO.

Later that day we were still having troubles with several of the other children keeping their hands to themselves. So, we talked about what those behaviors would lead to, including being sent to the principal's office. And do you know what the response was?
"I like Mr. Adams!"

Kindergartners! So, I had to finish that threat with, "You'll go to the principal's office... and then he'll call the police!"

That finally got their attention. Maybe a little extreme... but when you spend all day everyday with five year olds, your thought process gets a little out of whack. :) I had to say it. I HAD TO.

Birthday and Puzzles

2008-11-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

Well, happy birthday to Nathan! This past Tuesday was Nathan's birthday. That's pretty exciting, since it was Veteran's Day too, so he got a parade on his birthday! I also made him dinner that night... and I'll have to say it turned out pretty well. Here is his birthday cake. Mostly, I didn't have any cake decorating tools, so I squeezed the frosting out of the corner of a plastic bag-- how's that for clever?
Nathan also reintroduced me to the world of puzzles that evening. I don't really do a lot of puzzles. Only because I'm no good at them and they take me forever. (Let's be honest... I get frustrated when the kindergartners dump out their "hard" puzzles... not just because I have to put them back together, but also because it takes so long for me to figure them out!) I really liked this method though. I just sit there and attempt to put pieces together. Every now and then I get really lucky (by pushing the pieces together really hard), and then I still get to see the puzzle make progress as Nathan puts the rest of it together for me. What a good team!

Language Translation

2008-11-10T21:51:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to write today, but the Boy was telling me that I needed to report something. I had a really fun weekend, where I went ice skating and watched a movie with Nathan, and then Sunday evening we had dinner and went to Julie's house to watch the movie, "Emma".

Things must be going really well between us. I base that comment off of Nathan's facebook, where he wrote in Portuguese, "Nathan is very happy because this 'courtship' is going well!" Maybe he doesn't know that I took 3 years of Spanish, and could figure out most of what it said on my own. But even if that were not the case, I guess he forgot that it takes about 3.2 seconds to google that phrase to get a translation into English. Either that, or he wanted me to read it, but didn't want to make it so obvious. Either way, it made me laugh. :)

The First Snow of the Year

2008-11-05T20:32:00.000-08:00

So, today was most definitely the first snow of the year! Last night it snowed a little tiny bit. And then today, we woke up to a blizzard. This meant a forty minute drive to school when it's usually under 15. It also meant that I was having to zip up a whole lot of coats. I think we are definitely going to need to work on the coat zipping skills of my students. The more that can zip their own coats, the happier we will be!
Today was also Vianne's very first snow. I think they don't have much snow in Burundi, and I think it was awfully overwhelming. He went running outside to recess with all of the other kids, got out onto the playground where it was snowing like crazy, and then began to bawl. This child is silent most of the time, but when he cries, he howls. So, I helped zip up his coat, and cover his hands with his sleeves, and then had him stand next to me, and rubbed his back to help keep him warm, and he calmed down. I think he just didn't know what to think. And if you have never seen anything like this, and no one around you can explain it to you since you don't speak English, what are you supposed to think? He is one adorable little boy though. He has long black curly eyelashes, and all of the snowflakes get caught in them.

I also had children that did not know how to get dressed for the weather. As school ended, one little boy, Beau went running outside wearing nothing but his t-shirt. When I asked him where his sweater, coat, hat, and gloves were (his mother had been so kind to send him prepared for the weather), he told me that they were all inside his backpack! I told him to come back and inside to put them on, to which he replied, "But Miss Parrish, I'm cold!"
We're going to get this figured out. I'm sure of it.

Good Surprises

2008-11-04T22:29:00.000-08:00

This morning, I had a major surprise. The kind of surprise that you really, honestly, never would have thought of, and is a super good surprise.
As I was heading out the door this morning, expecting another regular day of school, I went out to find a tall, handsome young man named Nathan raking our leaves and bagging them for us. He had them nearly done by the time we even noticed. That's right... crack of dawn, and he's raking our leaves!
So, I hugged him, and thanked him, but it just seemed so inadequate. As Ian put it, "I give that man props!"
I was super excited about it... more than I realized, I think, because at about 10:30 in the morning, the secretary, Susan, came in to ask me a question and just said, "That smile is still on your face."

Going Nuts!

2008-11-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

Kindergartners have vivid imaginations.
A few weeks ago, we had a lesson on prepositions. This lesson involved a stuffed squirrel looking for nuts to store for winter around a chair. He tried on top of the chair, around the chair, under the chair, etc. When we were finished, he found a small stash, which the children insisted that I place in a special place for him to store for winter.
Since that time, every now and then the children will find an acorn on the playground and bring it in for "the squirrel." I have found all of this quite amusing, but today, they found "the mother load."
Before school started today, my children discovered that the tree in front of the school has lots of acorns... enough to fill the pockets on the fronts of your hoodies, and all of the tiny little pockets in your pants, and even enough to put in your backpack!

Soooooo... the stuffed squirrel in our classroom will not be going hungry any time soon!

My 100 list

2008-10-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Julie, has been encouraging me to make a 100 list for my blog. That was about the time that I started this blog, and haven't gotten around to it... until now. So here goes:

1. As a child, I was very shy. There were some days at school where I would not say a single word to anyone.
2. People don't believe that when I tell them. Probably because I never quit talking.
3. We moved a lot when I was a child. I have lived in West Jordan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Clinton, Syracuse, Logan, Taiwan, and now I'm back in West Jordan.
4. I have been caught in quicksand twice. Both times were in the lake near my house in Georgia.
5. I'm a band geek. I played the clarinet and contra-alto clarinet in junior high and high school.
6. I wasn't ever very good, even though I really liked it. Probably because I never practiced.
7. I tutored children with autism in high school and college.
8. I get really passionate about teaching. It's a little out of control sometimes.
9. I speak Mandarin Chinese.
10. I served my mission in Taiwan, and I really love that place.
11. I am the second of six children.
12. My brother Nathan was my best friend growing up. We were such good friends that as a three year old, I was planning on marrying him. (Luckily, I've changed my mind:)
13. My brother Ian is now my best friend.
14. I am afraid of a lot of things, including heights and balls flying at me.
15. Even though I'm afraid of heights, I have been cliff jumping one time.
16 I graduated from Utah State University with a dual major in early childhood education and early childhood special education.
17. I graduated summa cum laude, which I didn't even know until I got to my own graduation.
18. I love to go dutch ovening up the canyon.
19. I own my own dutch oven. I only know how to make cobbler and that's all.
20. I love chocolate, and I love milk... my two great loves in life.
21. I really love warm, comfy sweaters.
22. I love to go swing dancing. That's big band swing, not country swing.
23. When I was in junior high school, I would force myself to ask the young men to dance, even though I was shy then.
24. Sometimes they said no.... but I figure that's probably only because I was a foot taller than them with buck teeth.
25. I like to bake, and I have gotten so much better over the years!
26. I never did figure out how I managed to fail, "Never Fail Fudge."
27. I like to sew and I have sewn most of my own skirts.
28. I usually sew pajama pants for all of my brothers and sisters at Christmas time.
29. I am a home body. I love to be at home, doing things with my family or friends. I prefer eating meals at home with my family instead of going out to eat.
30. I like having my mom at home. I'm 24 and I don't even live at home, but for some reason, I feel more secure when I know she's at home.
31. I'm a little Chinese. The Chinese people really love things when they are shufu and fang bian (meaning comfortable and convenient.) Me too!
32. When I was a junior in college, I bought a stuffed green frog for a class I was taking. It was really soft and I named it Flops.
33. I sleep better when I'm holding it.
34. I considered taking Flops on my mission, but I didn't. I missed that silly frog the whole time I was gone!
35. I have only had two boyfriends in my life. Curiously, they both had the same birthday.
36. I like to cross-stitch. I am currently working on a cross-stitch that will probably take the next ten years to complete.
37. There is a woman in Taiwan that prays every night that I will find a man to marry.
38. I took a semester of sign language, and three years of Spanish, but I can no longer use either language...just Chinese.
39. My favorite constellation is Orion.
40. When I was in high school, I covered my entire ceiling with little glow-in-the-dark stars. I even put up my own constellations, including the female version of Orion (she had a skirt.)
41. My bedroom was given away to my little sister, and I totally forgot I had those stars until one night this past summer when my brother and sister-in-law were visiting and I slept in Erin's bed.
42. Those stars brought back a lot of good memories, so I put up glow in the dark stars in my bedroom at my new place.
43. When I was in high school, you could see the Bountiful temple from my bedroom window.
44. I'm still disappointed that they built a house in the way.
45. My favorite temple is the TaiPei temple. My second favorite is the Bountiful temple.
46. As a child, I was a Girl Scout. I sold a lot of cookies.
47. While singing in a Girl Scout Choir at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Georgia, I fainted on top of my sister, Chelsea's, head. I don't know if she ever forgave me for that.
48. I wanted to be a ballerina when I was a little girl.
49. I also always wanted to be a writer.
50. I think I'm a good story teller.
51. I have been skiing exactly 4 times in my life. That's when I broke my leg and gave the sport up for life.
52. My name is Alisa. I've always liked my name. Unfortunately, very few people in this world know how to say that.
53. I have a mortal fear of needles.
54. I hate needles so much that I signed myself up for a research study to have my four impacted wisdom teeth removed while I was awake, just to avoid getting an IV.
55. I get pale and whoozy just talking about needles, blood, and other medical stuff. I am a pansy.
56. My brothers are bigger pansies than I am.
57. I like to wear ear muffs. Chelsea has always been embarrassed for me because of it.
58. As a child, I was obedient to a fault. I really was.
59. As an adult, I'm rather stubborn. I don't like having people tell me what to do. Just ask my Dad.
60. Someday, I'm going to build a house that has higher counter tops, just so that I don't have to bend over so much to do my dishes.
61. I listen to Christmas music out of season.
62. I don't actually have a working radio in my car, so I just sing loudly to myself.
63. In college, my roommates named my computer "Gilbert" and referred to him as my boyfriend. They felt like I needed to get out more.
64. I don't like to eat tofu. That includes when it's baked, broiled, steamed, boiled, fried, and barbecued. Just not a fan.
65. I ate a lot of tofu as a missionary.
66. I pretended to like it-- but I didn't.
67. My car is named Meshach(!!!). Ian helped me name it. We love that car.
68. In college, I drove a 1974 land yacht... I mean, Ford LTD. It would slide if it saw ice, or even thought about it.
69. I have so many cousins that when I moved back to Utah, I took the time to memorize all of their names.
70. I love to go on walks in the rain.
71. I like to go on drives into the canyons or pretty places, just to go driving.
72. I like to go hiking, but I kind of mosy when I hike. Some say I'm lazy, but I say I'd rather enjoy my surroundings than make it to the top.
73. As a child, I really liked to go on walks by myself, just to find my own "secret hide-outs."
74. Nathan and I used to write to each other in code. My favorite one was "code silver."
75. I like to tell my students really, really dumb jokes, just so they'll laugh.
76. I really do love to teach kindergarten.
77. When I was in first grade, there was a little boy that wrote me a love letter every day. Not knowing what to do and distressed about the situation, I wrote him a hate letter. He quit writing the love letters.
78. I still feel kind of guilty about that.
79. When I was in high school, I was really good friends with my ninth grade seminary teacher's family and would hang out at their house.
80. I used to win eating contests in junior high school... and then complain about still being hungry.
81. I got in trouble in school for reading too much.
82. I won't let myself read books during the school year. I lose all sense of time and place and get absolutely nothing done.
83. When I was in seventh grade, I tried to make an adobe brick for a history project. My friend, Danielle helped me. We collected mud and grass from outside and mixed in a pot, before pouring it into a shoe box. We then put it into the oven to "bake."
84. We learned a few things. a. Never put mud mixed with snow in an adobe brick. It gets soggy fast. b. Find out the origin of the mud. If the construction site used to be a cow pasture, don't touch. c. If you forget the aforementioned rules, avoid your mother for awhile.
85. I once performed in a play where I played the part of Romeo.
86. I do not like games where balls come flying at me. That includes most sports.
87. A friend once told me while playing volleyball that I would be great at karate... I had mastered the art of avoiding the enemy.
88. I'm a good swimmer.
89. There are no balls in swimming.
90. When I was in sixth grade, my mother went on strike. She wasn't going to cook breakfast for us anymore. I tried to make breakfast for my family. I made pancakes, but I cooked them at too high of a temperature, and so they were gooey inside. I just told my brother and sister to put m&m's on the top and eat them anyway.
91. As a child, I loved to play school. I was always the teacher, and Chelsea was my student. I don't know if she's forgiven me for that yet.
92. I loved to play with dolls as a little girl.
93. Chelsea's favorite doll had only one arm and was named, "Beep Beep."
94. As a little girl, my grandpa taught me how to idiot stitch. It's called that because, "any idiot can do it." If you want to know how, I'm offering lessons.
95. I like to ice skate, even though I can hardly stay on my own two feet. I learned how to skate backwards once too.
96. I know a lot of children's songs.
97. I taught myself how to type in ninth grade. I can type about 80 wpm.
98. I'm trying to learn to read Chinese.
99. I had really long hair as a child that went down to my waist.
100. I've always loved tulips.

Vianne Speaks!

2008-10-27T18:57:00.001-07:00

My classroom has many children of very different backgrounds. There are ten different languages spoken in my classroom (including English), and about 50 percent of my students are learning English as a second language. Most of the children do have some minimal understanding of English, or at least are using some words and can imitate spoken words.
However, there is one little boy that has only been in America for a short time that speaks Kirundi. (I know what you're thinking. Where do they speak Kirundi? That's easy! In Burundi! You don't know where Burundi is? Well, Google knows everything... that's how I found out.) He has been mostly silent since coming to my class. I say mostly silent, but that would not be entirely true. There was that one day in the very beginning where he was just so overwhelmed that he began to howl for some period of time. That wasn't very quiet.
I have heard him speak briefly to his brother in their native tongue, which helped me know that he at least does talk. No matter what I've tried, up to this point at the end of October, he would not even imitate sounds I made... until today.
Today, while playing a game of Cookie Monster ABC, he would imitate the names of the letters on the cookies when it was his turn! This was a breakthrough! In fact, it was such a big deal that every time he did it (and it was quiet even at that), one of the little girls in the group would touch me and say, "I heard him! I heard him talk!" The kids have been super good about including him and remembering him. I think they know that he needs extra help... and so they are as excited about his progress as I am. Hurrah!

Snow Bird and Pumpkin Pie

2008-10-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend was super fun! Snow Bird had a deal where you could ride the tram up to the top of the mountain for free, as long as you brought a can of food to donate to the food bank. My friend, Nathan, and I doubled the donation. We brought 4. It was cold and windy up there, and way above the tree line. For some reason I was thinking, "Won't that be fun to see all of the fall colors?" Just as a note, there are no fall colors on the top of a mountain. :) We sat in the warming hut to eat lunch and took some pictures before we headed down.
We then went home and carved a pumpkin... I think my kindergartners are going to love our jack-o-lantern. We did a pretty sweet job. I cleaned out the pumpkin, Nathan separated out the seeds (for yummy toasted pumpkin seeds!), and Nathan carved it (my carving skills are a little inadequate)... and then we ate pumpkin pie. As my family well knows, I love pumpkin pie. I also love milk. And then, on top of that, Nathan loves pumpkin pie, and he loves milk too. So, we ate the whole thing, all but one piece, with big glasses of milk all in one sitting right out of the pie tin. Why bother with plates when you're going to eat the whole thing anyway? It was great!

Errand of Angels

2008-10-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

So, tonight I went to the dollar theater with Julie to see the movie, "Errand of Angels." It actually cost 2 dollars per person, and the theater was pretty ghetto, but I really liked the movie. It wasn't necessarily that the movie was all that spectacular in and of itself. It had mostly to do with the fact that it brought back so many memories, and that it was so true to life, just sister missionaries doing their best, usually feeling like it isn't good enough, but also seeing that the Lord works in mysterious ways, and despite our failings, does amazing things. I highly recommend it!!

Chocolate Legs

2008-10-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

I wore black nylons to school today to match my skirt. I thought they looked nice. But you never know what they look like to a five year old.

Today, a boy named Loi asked me, "Miss Parrish, why do your legs look like chocolate?"

Cool! There's a truck at our school!

2008-10-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

We had a trucker visit my class today. That's right. He brought his 18-wheeler and parked it in our bus loop. My kids got to learn all about trucks and climb in the truck, and watch it get hitched up and unhitched from its trailer. It was incredible.

In preparation for this activity, I read a book to my students about trucks, called "Truck" by Donald Crews. And then, I had them brainstorm questions. My students have gotten really good at asking questions. Everyday when we do the sharing bag, we have them practice their "wonderings" instead of making random comments. I was really, really impressed today! They all asked questions, and they were really good! Here are the questions they asked,

1. What do you carry in your truck?

2. What do you do?

3. How do you drive the truck?

4. Are you handsome?

5. Do you ever drive in the spaghetti bowl?

6. Do you have to change gears?

7. Do you play with toys in your truck?

8. Where are you going next?

9. How long is your truck?

10. Do you take a bath?

11. Does smoke come out of your truck?

12. What's your favorite color?

13. How many tires do you have?

I was really impressed that so many of the questions were so on topic! At the same time, a few of those showed their true five year old colors. The kids LOVED the trucks! Even after we were done, they kept saying, "That was so cool!"

CHINA!

2008-10-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

So, today was an exciting day... probably too much excitement. It wore me out! I just found out today that I might have the chance to go with a group of educators to CHINA! Did I mention that we were going to CHINA!?!? CHINA!! I am so excited! And, I would get to go for super cheap. I don't know all of the details, I just know that it's to CHINA. Oh, what a happy day!

The Hike to Timpanogos

2008-10-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today was so much fun! Julie, Sarah, and William and I decided to go hike up to the caves on Mount Timpanogos. The kids were great troopers and walked most of the way on their own! They also had a ton of fun in the cave. We even got to see a bat! I'm so glad I get to spend time with these guys! Isn't family great?

The Room of the Boy

2008-10-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I had some big plans for getting lots of school stuff done. But sometimes, things come up, things that are more important than big plans. The thing that came up? The Boy's room. The Boy has a bedroom that for some time could be compared to a sinking swirling pit of despair. The more you climb into it, the less of a chance you would ever find your way out. The Boy had mastered the art of jumping with a flying leap from door to bed.
We decided that had to change... and the results were miraculous! Here are some of the "after" photos for the transformation. I've also included a picture of the trash can... completely full from the trash removed from this bedroom. There are a few things I would like to point out. #1 The flower arrangements look lovely (thanks to my new flower arranging skills). That's right! My 17 year old brother let me put flower arrangements in his room. What can I say? He loves me!
#2 There is a Barney doll on his bed. As a small child, Boy was quite attached to this Barney doll. We recently rediscovered Barney in a toy box and he has renewed the attachment, though he mentioned that he remembers it "being bigger."
#3 The big orange tub is Ian's toy box. Yes, he needed a toy box. :)
#4 There is no laundry anywhere to be seen. The Boy learned how to do laundry this weekend. It's a miracle!
#5 There is a big cozy red rug. It matches the red candle... the Cranberry Mandarin candle... these two bright red pieces in the room bring friendly Chinese reminders to all who enter... or at least to me and to Ian.
I feel like the weekend was a huge success story. When we were done, Ian bought us pizza to celebrate!

The Art of Flower Arranging... I'm a Natural! (with help)

2008-10-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, my friend, Tasha, invited me to a super fun flower arranging class. It was my first try, and I think I did all right. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty proud of my handiwork. However, since I wasn't going to be home for most of the weekend, I figured I should probably give it away to someone who would enjoy it more. Since I had a dentist appointment in Roy on Thursday morning, I ran over to my Gramy's house right after and brought the flowers to her. She seemed pretty tickled that I thought of her. So, I think it was definitely worth it!

Night at McDonald's

2008-10-13T21:20:00.001-07:00

Tonight our school had a super fun night at McDonald's. Several of the teachers went to serve food and the students came to enjoy the night. 10% of all of the profits of the night went to our school! So, it was a win win situation for everyone and it was so much fun. I saw a lot of my kids there and they were so excited to see their teacher! I love my job. I definitely went into the right profession.

I've put up a picture of some of the teachers that were there that night.

My Classroom Exploded!

2008-10-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

I love fall! I love watching the leaves change colors and going on walks in the rain, and the cooler weather (just as long as it's not actually cold- not a fan of that!).
In kindergarten we have been learning about the season of fall. So, we made scarecrows! It was super fun, except that I didn't predict the mess it would create. We took two pieces of butcher paper together and stapled it for heads. Next, we stuffed them with newspaper (the vocabulary word of the day? Stuffed!!) We then decorated the heads, made hats, and added shredded paper for hair. I think the kids loved it, but when all was said and done, there were puddles of glue on the tables, a wastebasket overflowing with newspaper, but mostly, shredded paper everywhere!! So, it kind of went like this, "All right, boys and girls, how many of you can count to 50?... Good! Go pick up that many pieces of trash!" Well, the kindergartners worked really hard, but you can only shove so many pieces of trash into your hand before you have even more leaking out the other side. :) I'm making really good friends with the custodians!
Actually, one of the custodians there in the evening is Ron. Ron and I are friends. I keep reminding him that we're friends in case he forgets. Sometimes about ten minutes before we are supposed to be out of the school, he gets on the intercom and says, "Teachers, we are beginning to lock up. The building will be closing in ten minutes." I don't know why he gets on the intercom. I'm the only teacher there to hear the message... and he has to walk down the hall to lock my door in a minute anyway. One of these days, I'm just waiting for him to get on and say, "Miss Parrish- go home!" I think if I wasn't there every night, he'd miss me. I'm sure of it.

Here's a picture of some of our scarecrows. The paper to the left lists all of the directions needed to make a scarecrow as excellent as ours!

Teaching School: Getting in Touch with Myself

2008-10-01T18:06:00.001-07:00

Teaching school helps me to be more in touch with myself. In saying that, what I really mean to say is, "Kindergartners have a wonderful way of pointing out all of my quirks and imitating everything I say." That scares me.
Yesterday, my whiteboard marker ran out of ink. Without a second thought, I made a comment to the effect, "This marker's fired!" and threw it away. I don't remember saying this, and I would probably claim that I didn't except that today, it happened again. I told the children, "My goodness, my marker must be out of ink." That's when the children asked me, "Is the marker fired?"
"What?" I asked. I was totally confused.
"Is the marker fired? Do you need to throw it away?"
So, that marker was fired too, and currently, we're accepting applications for new markers. You can contact me if you know of any that may meet the qualifications.

Today, though, I was paid a big compliment by a child. His grandmother came to pick him up and told me that he had told his family, "When we do something wrong, Miss Parrish doesn't get mad. She just tells us to try it again."
That is another phrase that I use a lot without even realizing it, but I'm glad I do... because I hope that all of my children can have that attitude: doing it wrong doesn't make me bad. It just means I need to try it again. (Some of the children may have also realized, though, that you may need to try it again about 1400 billion times. :)

Lucky for me though, this also helps me get to know the students' parents as well. The other day, I was trying to get the attention of a child to get in line. He wasn't listening or hearing what I had to say, so I used both his first and last name to get his attention. That didn't work. So, I went up to him and asked him, "Did you hear me calling your name? It's time to get in line." To which he responded, "You didn't use my middle name." Note to self: learn middle names.

Beat by a 2nd Grader

2008-09-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

I have recess duty twice a week, once on Tuesday mornings, and once on Wednesday afternoons. I made the mistake one recess of choosing to race one of my kindergartners across the playground to the fence, just to see who was faster. Well, now it becomes something I am expected to do every time I go out to recess. Only now it's not just one child. That ended about 2.2 seconds after I started my very first race. Most of our races include crowds of children, and we have to try and set definite rules about getting in a very straight line first... or else some of the smaller children are trampled. As a whole, the races do great things for my self-esteem. Just think... I race against half of the children on the playground, and I always win!! I sometimes even have time to wait at the fence before the children arrive. That all ended today. I was beat by a 2nd grader. Not once, mind you, but twice. And I wasn't letting him win either. I was running my guts out, (by the way, that's not a very good idea when the finish line is a very unforgiving chain link fence... ouch) and yet, I couldn't manage to pull ahead. I might have to give up racing as a way to boost my self-image, and just leave it as a way to make friends... little friends.

Computer problems solved!

2008-09-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah! My computer is finally working again! Last week, after trying to turn my computer on, it decided to refuse to do so, and told me I had to fix my computer. I am pretty proud to say that I did that myself! That's right... I'm more computer savvy than I ever had thought.

This weekend was a good weekend. I got a lot of school stuff done on Friday, which was a teacher comp day, and then I spent the weekend with my family and my cousin Juliana... who had me for a sleepover on Saturday night. I love spending time with her since she always has such a positive outlook on life.

Anyway, well, it's late and I had better skeedaddle to bed. I have a lot to do tomorrow! Hello kindergarten, here I come!

I'm an Aunt!

2008-09-18T18:23:00.001-07:00

That's right. There's a new little Parrish in this world... and once again, he is nameless. Not really all that surprising. He's also quite a big little guy already! 9 pounds, 5 oz. 21 inches long.

I love Letter People

2008-09-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

I have found that when I talk about my job with other people, it tends to bring out a lot of memories... memories of kindergarten days past. And from those memories, I sometimes get some of my best ideas. This is because I figure that anyone that has hung onto a memory for twenty-five years just to tell me how much they loved the letter of the day must certainly have a pretty good idea of what works. So, as a result of this, I have begun doing a visiting letter of the day. Each day, at a random time during the day, there will be a knock on the door. And from that knock, I will go to see who it is... finding nothing but a construction paper letter. I then take the letter and ham it up for all its worth. I pretend that the letter talks to me (I hold the letter close to my ear for that part) and then share what the letter has said with the class. Each letter comes with a particular characteristic or problem, such as letter A that always says "AAAH Choo," (she needed a tissue when she came in) or letter B that loves buttons so much that he kisses all of the buttons he sees.
Well, this little idea that I got from a friend has been a hit.

Each day, the children come in talking about what letter will be visiting that day, wondering who it will be and when they will be coming. "Miss Parrish, is letter D coming to visit today?"
" I don't know, but I hope so."
"I think it's letter D."

They also feel like these letters are like real people. After the letter has come, they wave hello to the letter when they walk past, and ask it questions. They also ask me questions about the letters and how they're feeling, "Miss Parrish, is Miss A feeling better? Does she still have a cold?"
"I'm sorry to say that she's not feeling that well still. She is still sneezing."
"Tell her I hope she gets better."

Or when we went to an activity outside, a child asked, "But Miss Parrish, isn't Mr. B going to be coming with us?"

It's really quite charming, and hilarious in the same breath.

I can WALK!

2008-09-17T17:56:00.001-07:00

So, good news!!! I can walk! For the first time in two weeks, I can stand up straight. No more hunched shoulders. And I can walk, without a limp. My principal referred me to his brother-in-law, who is a chiropractor. I wasn't planning on acting on it since I was getting better, until the other day when I woke up feeling like I was back on square one. Then, screaming "uncle" I finally asked for the number. And now, after seeing this chiropractor, I can walk!! I just keeping walking around my house, just to make sure that I really can. The chiropractor pretty much just popped my pelvis back where it was supposed to be... and wa lah- miracles happened!

Bu Xing!

2008-09-16T21:36:00.000-07:00

I just had a lot of fun things happen today... so I feel a need to keep posting over and over. But let's be honest... the Boy is living for these things.

Today, while teaching children to sort, I was trying to come up with a way to teach them about "sorting rules." I came up with the idea to tell them that they were the boss and they got to make the rules for their shapes to follow. I then taught them about what the Chinese people say to children when they don't follow the rules, which is, "bu xing!" That means, literally, "not allowed!" We then sorted the shapes, and every time I sorted a shape wrong, they would all yell, "Bu Xing!" They loved it, and I did too.

The best part though, is to see how excited they all get about this. I gave each child a bag of shapes to sort. The rule was this: they had to sort the bag of shapes, then show me. If they sorted it correctly, I would have them clean up their shapes, and I traded them bags. I loved watching them sort their shapes incorrectly on purpose so they could yell, "bu xing!" at the offending shape. And then, they would get so excited about doing it all over again. One little boy, Yair, was so excited when I gave him a new bag of shapes, he whispered, "Yes!" and hugged the new shapes to his chest.

Now just pretend for a minute that you're an adult: if you sort this bag of shapes, all you get is another one. The more work you do, the more work you get. YES!!

Fat Teacher

2008-09-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

My children are getting really good at getting into a circle for different classroom activities. Only, sometimes they don't leave any room for the teacher. Either that, or I have about half the class that just stand there, refusing to sit until I do so that they can all sit next to me... or on top of me. Well, today, they just forgot to leave me more than the amount of room they might leave for any one of their small friends. So, I told the children they needed to scoot over, commenting, "I'm a big, fat teacher; I'm going to need some more space than that." To which one little girl replied, "My mom's fat too." And another two offered, "My mom is too." "So's my mom."

I think I may keep those comments to myself when parent teacher conferences come around.

It's a Low Rider

2008-09-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

So the Boy has this fantastic ability to imitate a Hispanic accent... and more than that, he's hilarious when using it, so we've had fun with that. While looking for a car for me, we often laughed at his stereotypical comments about wanting a "low rider" with "the rims" and "LED lights" that cause it to glow.
So, what does that have to do with anything? Well, today while in kindergarten (yes, everything I write about is about school), I had the children drawing in their journals about what they would like to bring to "Show and Tell" if given the chance. I then helped them write about it. Well, one Hispanic little boy told me he was drawing his trailer truck. I helped him write that, and then afterwards he told his friend, "It's a low rider."

Large Families

2008-09-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

The children in my class all come from very large families. That's pretty much what I concluded after today's workshop activity. The children were each asked to use their thumbprints to make thumbprint people. Each thumbprint would make the head of a person, and the children had to draw the rest of the body. I asked the children to make a "Thumbprint Family," meaning that they had to draw their family, using the thumbprint people. Kindergartners love this activity! However, I seem to think that many of them may have been exaggerating the size of their families. I did mention that they could include pets, but some of the children must have been counting every ant that had ever walked across their sidewalk. In fact, some children had such large families, they had to go so far as to not only dip their thumb in the ink... but most of their hand. Needless to say, some did not get around to drawing a body for every family member... so tragic. :)

Missionaries from Taiwan

2008-09-14T11:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, some of the missionaries from my mission had a little get together. It was so much fun to see everybody and to share mission experiences. I love Taiwan. I love the people of Taiwan. Even the crazy ones (and missionaries attract those like flies). I miss Taiwan... and I feel guilty about all of the people I have not written lately... guess I should get on that...

Erin's Coming Home

2008-09-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

So, my sister Erin went in for back surgery this past Monday. She has severe scoliosis. The doctor said her back is off by about 104 degrees. So, they have put several rods in her back and a bunch of pins, and now she is standing taller than ever!
Erin is coming home today and hopefully will be feeling better as soon as possible. She's such an optimist. Every time a nurse asks her her pain level, she tells her it's a 10. That's even right after receiving morphine. Always a constant 10.

Welcome home Erin!!

My Song and Dance Routine

2008-09-11T19:43:00.001-07:00

Good news! My back is feeling much much better! It's been a week now since it happened and I have earned the nickname of "gimp." But today, I think I'm actually starting to walk normal!

So, have I mentioned how much I love five year olds? Today, I had one little boy howling in the corner of my classroom for 40 minutes straight, telling me he wanted to go home to his mom. (that part I do NOT love) When he finally calmed down (thank goodness he did!!) he asked me for a pillow and a blankie and asked if he could take his shoes off. After taking a little rest on the floor, he was able to join the rest of the class, and we went on with the day like normal. Not a single child in the classroom made fun of him for it... I guess they are all so close to needing a blankie themselves that they don't see any reason to bring it up.

As a kindergarten teacher, I don't think I realize sometimes exactly how much of a song and dance routine I really do, until today I was calling children to stand up and walk to their seats, and a little boy raises his hand and asks, "But Miss Parrish, aren't you going to sing our names today?" Kindergartners! So, of course, I sang their names for them.

A Pain in the Back

2008-09-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

So, Thursday I went to school with a little bit of a twinge in my back. I figured that I must have slept on it wrong, and didn't think too much of it. I went on with my life, including teaching very short people that we call kindergartners. By lunchtime, however, my back was killing me, and I tried to take a bit of a break during lunch to do some back exercises. However, that didn't work out since several parents decided to bring their children into school before the bell rang, and by the time I explained that they were early and why they had to go outside, my lunch break was over. By the end of the day, I could hardly move.
Friday, I went to school, but this time I called in a substitute to do all of my bending and stretching, and lifting and such. I was mostly a reassuring smile in the back corner that all was well. Many teachers told me I was an idiot... glad I have their support. And Friday afternoon, I went to the doctor.

I don't like doctors. They seem nice enough, but they always do things to you that are not nice. When they suggested giving me a shot, I told them "no, thanks." However, apparently my age (being 24 at the moment) does not actually give me authority over my own body. Instead, my Aunt Allison told me I was getting the shot and not to look since they were coming in with it right then. I got a nasty shot, as well as some intensive medication. All three bottles they gave me have nice little warnings on the side that read, "May cause drowsiness." To my body that is translated to, "May cause you to be knocked out like a light for the next 48 hours." So, in the last 48 hours, I have slept for 30 of those. That's a lot of sleeping!

Thanks to a wonderful cousin, Juliana that helped me type my lesson plans, and a fantastic family (including my cousin, McCall and my Aunt Allison...despite the fact that she was an advocate of the shot!) I'm doing much better and hope to be able to teach school in the morning. I'm just hoping that this medication doesn't knock me out like a light!

Did I ever tell you how much I love five year olds?

2008-09-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of kindergarten. Well, I should really say kindergarten orientation. Some things went really well! One of those had to do with an adorable girl named Calley. She came up to me after school and held her arms out as wide as she possibly could and told me, "I love you thissss much." To which I replied by holding out my much longer arms and told her, "Well, I love you thisss much!" She is a doll! I have some really cute kindergartners and I think this year will go well!

Napoleon Dynamite vs. The Boy

2008-08-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

Ian is told quite often that he looks like Napoleon Dynamite. He finds this offensive. He does not look like Napoleon Dynamite. He looks like John Heder, the actor that plays Napoleon Dynamite. That is totally different! So, I decided to look into this. Does Ian really look like John Heder? You be the judge.

Barney's Going to School

2008-08-31T20:47:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Labor Day, and so, in preparation for the labor that I need to put in on Monday in order to be ready for school, I just played this weekend.

Friday I had a sleepover with Juliana at my house! It's been a long time since I've had a sleepover and I had a great time. She also helped me out with some of my school stuff (three cheers for volunteers!)

Saturday, my family got together to go swimming in Bountiful and have a barbecue. Ian and I mostly just rode down the water slide together. Ian got really fast at it, and we decided it had to do with the extra pounds he's carrying. He had a pretty smooth ride.

That evening, Mom and I went out into the garage to find some toys for my classroom. Ian came out and found his Barney doll, the one that he was attached to as a two year old. He was really excited about it, "This doll was like half my size. I loved this doll!" He was so excited, he's taking it to school on Monday. That's right... he's a junior in high school and he's taking his Barney doll. That takes one very secure sixteen year old to take a Barney doll to school. He promised to take pictures.

By the way, Ian has started his own blog www.thelifeoftheboy.blogspot.com.

We're still awaiting his first post... but I know it's coming soon! (hint hint)

Hallelujah!

2008-08-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today I found out that they have decided to add a kindergarten class! Woo Hoo! I'm not sure how they are going to decide which children will be moving to the new class, but I am glad that I don't have to make that decision! All I know is that our class sizes our coming down! Hallelujah!

Also, I don't know why I was chosen to be so lucky, but I was given a sweet fan today. It has felt so much better in our warm little classroom. What a great day!

Kindergarten SuperStar

2008-08-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

So, I am a Kindergarten Superstar! It's kind of fun to be a teacher returning to school for the first time. Last week, while cleaning up my classroom, I saw a couple of children walking out near the street. One of them looked over and started yelling, "It's her! It's her! Kolbe, it's her!!" They ran clear over to see me. Kolbe was one of my students last year and I was so excited to see him.
While doing assessments today, my students from last year in the classroom across the hall kept waving to say hi. In the hallways before school, I found several of my children that ran up to say hi. Then, while doing an assessment just after school, I noticed two of my students from last year peering in the windows and making comments, "She cut her hair! It's shorter." I've never been so noticed in my life, not even by five year olds.
And the best moment of all came from another teacher. I had had a child last year that was left handed and his mom was always concerned about making sure he was using the correct hand. So, I gave this teacher a die cut hand to put on his desk to remind him. The teacher said that she put that on his desk today and told him, "Miss Parrish asked me to put this here to remind you to use your left hand." She told me that when he heard that, he grinned, and his mom smiled. On his first day of first grade, he knew that his teacher loved him. I hope I can be a Kindergarten SuperStar for life.

Crayons and Husbands

2008-08-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Ah, the first day of school has arrived, and ironically, my nerves have actually calmed down a great deal. The children were kind of therapeutic today. Maybe that's because I had them one on one since I was doing assessments today, but it was nice. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that when the children are there, I don't have any energy left over to fuss about me. It's all about them.
I had a child draw me a beautiful picture today. While Clarissa's mother and I were discussing her goals for the next trimester, she drew a picture of me with my husband. I ought to take a picture of it tomorrow and put it up. My husband is tall and very red, with a large tuft of fire engine red hair. He is a looker and I am excited for the day that I get to meet him!

The Unmarked White Van

2008-08-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today Mom and I went to pick up the tables. We were told that they wanted them out of the school tomorrow, so after searching for a vehicle, we settled on our personal, "white, unmarked van." I thought it was kind of funny so I took a picture of it.

New Tables and Crowded Classrooms

2008-08-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

My classroom has four long rectangular tables. I have it set up so that there is room for six children on every table. Unfortunately, the parents of kindergartners neglect to register their children until three days before school starts, so now I have more children in my classroom than I do desks. This fact gives me nightmares and night sweats and day sweats and such.
But it's okay because today I talked to my principal and apparently, if I get up to 27 children in my class, I get an aide and if I get up to 30, we get a new teacher! (Hallelujah!) So, ironically, I'm now no longer hoping for small class sizes, I'm rooting for as many kids as possible. You have kids out of boundary? Not a problem! I know where you can attend! Your children just barely miss the age deadline, it's all right, close enough! You feel like your child is not ready for first grade and want to hold them back? Now's the time!
So, the best news though is that my Aunt Allison is getting rid of some small round tables for her classroom at a different school. And today, she told me that I can take them from her school to mine! Woo hoo! Now I'll have enough seats for all of my children! I was so excited, I kind of danced down the hall. Ron, a custodian caught me, and just said, "It's all right. I won't tell anyone."

kindergartners say the darndest things

2008-08-20T22:16:00.000-07:00

Another school year is about to start, and as a natural result, I'm losing me sanity. It's okay though, because for some reason, I really do love to teach. I thought about that tonight... I love teaching kindergarten. (Further evidence I've lost my mind). Anyway, I was thinking back on some of all of the funny things kids have said to me in the past school year, and I thought I should record these. So, this list is short now (since it's off the top of my head) but I will add to it throughout the school year.

1. "Miss Parrish, where did you get this shaving cream? You're not married!"
"I bought it at the store"
"Did they think you were weird?"
"No, they thought it was for my husband."
"Oh, okay." -Kylee
2. "Miss Parrish, I'll miss you when you're dead." -Vanya
3. "Does anyone have a question?" -asked by Mr. Adams in front of a group of 40 kindergartners. They responded in synchrony with 40 hands raising at exactly the same time. Not one of them had a question.
4. "Miss Parrish! I keep throwing my backpack at the tree, but the pine cones won't come out!!"
"Why do you think that is John?"
"Because the backpack's not hitting the pinecones!!"
(It never occurred to him that you might not want to tell that to the teacher. This was before school, so I just tried to pretend it never happened.)
5. "Did you know tomorrow is T day?" -Alex It's a good thing he said something. If I hadn't planned it that way, I never would have known.
6. While completing the kindergarten assessment for the year, the children were required to write their numbers from 1-30. Kylee wrote the numbers 1-22, and then she wrote the number 23 two times. She then looked at me and said, "Weird. There's two twenty threes." Well she continued on filling in the little boxes. When she got to the end, she smiled and said, "You thought there were going to be 30, huh."
7. "Miss Parrish, Elijah peed on my hand!"
"I had to! I really had to go and he wouldn't move out of my way!" (What is the appropriate way to respond to a comment like that? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it was not in any of my education texts.)
8. "Miss Parrish, my sister says you're not really 72."
"She's never met me yet."
"That's right!" -Vanya
9. While teaching a lesson on addition, I had the children using small pieces of yarn as worms. I gave them a green piece of paper, and a brown one. I then had them solve simple story problems like this, "I had three worms in the grass. (pause) Put three worms in the grass. (pause) That's the green paper. Okay. Now I have two worms on the dirt. (pause) How many worms do I have? (pause) No, it's not 8... let's count it together."
After a few problems, Tevita, one of my brightest children responded by saying, "I never knew math could be hard."
10. "Miss Parrish, did you know that cat and hat rhyme?" Alex
11. When teaching the five senses, I needed a song, which I came up with at midnight, and then sang over and over so I wouldn't forget it. Due to the repetition, the Boy requested that I never sing it again. (Meaning everytime I started he would groan, "Not again!") Well, a few months later, long after we'd learned the song, I asked the children for requests. The 5 senses song was one of them. After singing it, a couple of children commented on it, "I love this song."
"Yeah, me too. I sing it in the bathtub."
"Me too!"
12. "Miss Parrish, I know why they call Mrs. Hansen Mrs Hansen!"
"Why is that, John?"
"Because she's married!!"

Meshach Adventures

2008-08-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

My car is named Meshach. This came about because of The Boy. I came home and told him that I wanted to name my car and that he should help me name it. His response (in his Napoleon voice) was, "When I name things, I like to go Biblical." So, we named it Meshach. But then, how do you convince everyone else to call the car Meshach? Well, I'll tell you how. We decided that when anyone asked me or Ian about the car, we would answer, "You mean Meshach?" And the other one, hearing this cue would respond by yelling "Meshach!!" in kind of a strained, excited voice. It caught on. In fact, a few days later, Mom said something about Meshach in the kitchen, and from the bathroom we heard the Boy's voice yelling, "Meshach!" We love Meshach.

Today, however, Meshach and I had an adventure. I went to a very long training for school. It was a good training, but I left feeling overwhelmed. I went to Wal-Mart to buy some things for my classroom. However, as I got out of Meshach, I somehow dropped her keys onto the seat, and then by habit, locked the doors. I left my meeting at 3:15. I went to Wal-Mart. After I bought the things I needed, I pondered my predicament, and called my mom about 5 thousand times. She didn't answer. I called my Aunt Allison for ideas. She did answer. I called the West Jordan police. They also answered, and told me they would send me an officer to help. I waited for an hour. By this time, it was 5:20 and I was really hot.
Well, those police officers definitely have some skills... some sweet door opening skills. About five minutes later, my keys were out, bless their hearts, and I was on my way! Woohoo!

Exotic Animal Hunt

2008-08-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, well, maybe more, my family and I went to the zoo. It was probably the hottest day of the entire summer, and yet there we were at good old Hogle Zoo. I'll have you know that the zoo is hard to find. You see, I found out how to get to the zoo on Mapquest, and I felt like I was following the directions pretty well. There were even reassuring signs along the way that had pictures of animals at Hogle Zoo on every street corner... for awhile. And then those signs became fewer and fewer, with no signs to point out that you should have turned. After awhile I decided I was lost, and decided to stop at McDonald's and ask directions, but I forgot that McDonald's is a foreign land. It looks like an American company. All of the menus are in English and it was started by an American, but it's not American. All of the people speak Spanish. And they don't know where Hogle Zoo is. It's okay, because people that go to McDonald's believe that it's an American company, and so there are English speakers driving through the drivethrough, only to find out that it's a foreign land. They know where Hogle Zoo is.
Anyway, to make a long story short, we went to Hogle Zoo, and we saw exotic animals of many kinds and varieties. The Boy and I have done you all the pleasure of giving you a personal tour of the exotic animals. Enjoy!

My life is ending

2008-08-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

My life is ending tomorrow. That's right... I'm going back to school, a world full of planning, and preparation, and nightmares. I only pray that the nightmares will subside once I've met my children for the year. My mom is even getting nightmares by proxy.
Every day this past week I've gone to school. Not that I have to, but you see, there's a lot to do. And... there's the nightmares... and those convince me that I had better fuss and plan all I can in hopes that it won't happen in real life. But it doesn't help, because I watch all of the families walk past my classroom with their darling little five year olds to register for kindergarten. Even though they were supposed to come in March. And then I fret about how many more are coming and I count the desks again and I start to sweat. Because my life is ending tomorrow.