What a Week! Cheers to November!

So this past week was conference week.  MAN, AM I TIRED!!!  We got today off, so you better believe I slept in.  But when you have to teach all week (full days) and then conference until 8pm multiple days in a row, it can drain you.  (I would also throw in my current state of pregnancy doesn't help, but I've really been feeling fine.)  It's different when I think of things to work on and end up working until 8pm because I choose to; but there's something about back to back meetings and 12 hour days that can just get to you.  On my first day, I only had a 20 minute lunch break in between two conferences and had to chow down fast.

So anyway, my student led conferences went really well.  I posted how I ran them here.  92% of my appointments showed, which is great!  I would say my most successful conference was also my most difficult parent.  Have you ever had one of those parents that is more difficult to work with than the kid?  Who am I kidding.  Do I have to ask?  Yeah, the one that doesn't support you from the get go, believes everything the lying kid says (who, by the way, is smart enough to know this and manipulates the adults in his life to pit them against each other), and claims to want the kid to be accountable, but they give in every time.  That's the conference I asked my principal to sit in on with me not because I couldn't handle her myself, but because I wanted the conference time to be focused and have his support.  Anyway, the kid's lies were all out there, miscommunication/more lies he told them at home surfaced, and samples of his lack of effort were unveiled. among other things.  Parent even apologized to me for pitting herself against me and believing every word her kid said before asking me, etc.  I also turned around the anger she felt towards her kid by showing her what he is capable of and giving her suggestions on how we/kid could move forward.  We discussed two goals the kid can focus on this quarter, and what we (home & school) can each specifically do to ensure we help him this next quarter.  I also sent a follow-up email detailing this information so it's clear.  Phew!!! How long will this support last throughout the year?  Who knows, but I'll take it as it comes.  :)

We also finished our first read aloud for the year, The Witches, by Roald Dahl.  I love this book!  I make the Grand High Witch voice when she speaks, which makes the students laugh, and I always stop at the worst times (which is when something is about to happen).  It was a perfect ending time for the book because we were able to watch the movie before Halloween to compare and contrast the book and movie.  Anyway, this year, I decided to do something different with my read aloud time.  Listening AND comprehending is a skill and I don't necessarily like them drawing or working on other things, tuning in only when they want to.  So I created these listening response questions that students answer after each read aloud (or whenever I have time for them to respond).  Here are some student samples below:

They get a whole sheet full of different prompts to keep in their binder.  They get to choose which one they want to respond to each time. I am really liking how this has turned out and plan to use it for my next read aloud also.  I typed in my own questions using the template I got from Angela Crescenzo's TpT Store.

This week was also full of congratulations from my current and past parents who found out about my pregnancy.  The past ones (now 6th grade parents) were special because I taught most of them for 4th and then again when I moved up to 5th grade.   Kids are telling me not to rush when they see me walking fast in the halls because I need to take care of my baby, I got a bunch of hugs, and even a few onsies.  I love our community.

By the way, I am such a loser and already started thinking about planning things for my long-term sub (whoever he/she may be).  More posts on this when I get more put together.  I won't be out until mid-April but I figure I'll do a little at a time so it doesn't get overwhelming.  :)

And Halloween?  Not ONE trick or treater!  I even barricaded the area right in front of the door so my crazy mutts won't scare kids.  We never had a ton from past years (about 7 visits last year), but perhaps no jack-o-lantern/decorations and the front yard being completely not raked affected them from coming?  I thought the leaves would make it scarier.  :)  Oh well.  Now I have all this candy that I need to bring back to my classroom & school.  Thank goodness we only bought two small bags.  I better get the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups out of here before I eat them all!

Cheers to November! And more pumpkin pie!