Moving On

Well, it is official! I will be moving up to fifth grade with my students next year. In order to do so, I had to take another certification exam which would allow me to teach all the way up to 8th grade. I took it a week ago and got my results Tuesday morning.

So, now that I have all of the paperwork side of it completed, I am on my way up. It's so funny, though, because my partner teacher and I had been threatening the kids by saying, "If you guys don't straighten up, one of us will be moving to 5th grade to make sure you get it together." Since my partner teacher and I are so much alike, to the kids, neither of the choices was better than the other. Both would mean they weren't getting an inch of wiggle room. It was so funny though, when one boy raised his hand all innocently and asked, "Couldn't Mrs. R move up with us instead?" Oh, my goodness. I HOWLED!!!

See, Mrs. R is also a partner teacher with us who teaches the Science. I love me some her because she is such a trip to me. We often tease her about being the sit-around-the-campfire-and-hold-hands-while-singing-Kumbaya-and-hugging-a-tree kind of person. Actually, she really isn't, but it's funny to say it anyway. She just looks at my other partner teacher and me, shakes her head, and walks away because she thinks we're completely crazy, I'm sure! Anyway, Mrs. R is the really loving part of our trio who may, for example, explain to the kids that it's not a healthful choice to lean back in your seat because you might fall, thereby causing yourself to suffer a concussion or worse. Of course, she then lovingly explains to them what a concussion is and why they really don't want one. I, on the other hand, take a sliiiiightly different approach: "Boy, if you fall back in that chair and crack your head open, you are NOT going to the nurse!" Either way, the chair legs come down.

When I finally told them that I would be moving, most cheered, but I could see a few who were not quite so giddy.

I love it! See, I already knew that a few were going to be shell-shocked. You know the ones. Those kids who make it a point to start the year off very slowly so the new teacher won't know exactly WHAT they know, allowing them to skate along for a while. Humph! No skating for them! They are going to have to hit the ground running because I already know what they know since I taught them in the first place.

Anyway, I don't know how I am going to handle the move. My partner teacher and I (the one just like me) are sooooo much alike that we think and say the exact same things at the exact same time. We always know what the other person is thinking and coming to work is a PAR-TY! Our students honestly don't know who is "crazier". They enjoy class (although they work their butts off) and, I believe, learn better because of it.

Having said that, I am moving to a team that is quite different from my current team. I lead a very relaxed classroom that is filled with laughter, talking, and lots of hands-on activities. Where I'm going, I think it's a little more structured, formal, and just-- well, different! Besides, the leader of that pack and I have previously had very strong words, so this should be interesting. I'll keep you posted on that one because sparks are SURE to fly.