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This week, we will be taking a lot of time to really dive in and discover just who Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was. As you can imagine, he is one of my heroes. He stood for peaceful solutions and not judging those by their outward appearances but by their character instead. He has really become a huge part of who I am and who I am striving to become. MLK, Jr. died at the age of 39. That is the same age as I am. I can't imagine leaving this world yet with so much left to do. People that stand up to others and gracefully demand change often do get beaten down to the point of death though. I stand up for kids daily, sometimes to some very powerful people (including parents). Teaching is not a job for me, it is a mission from above. I was born to teach. I was born to teach kids how to read, write, and solve math problems. BUT, I was also born to teach kids to be kind to one another, to stand up to those that feel they can bully others, and to BELIEVE in themselves, especially when those that should don't. Kids have it tough these days. They live in a world that is full of opportunity, but they struggle with finding gratitude in working hard to get it. You and I grew up very differently, and our parents were different kinds of parents than we are. I personally place more value in conduct and character than I do in academics with my own children. I feel at school they need to learn how to function in a structured world with respect and dignity. They need to seek out those that are treated unjustly and befriend them. They need to model how to behave and respect a teacher. I have found, that when those skills are established, the academics naturally fall into place. So, Dr. MLK, Jr is an important piece of our history. He deserves to be studied and understood. I admire what he does, along with one of my other favorite people in history: Rosa Parks. We will read literature on them, write poetry about them, complete projects about them, and we will act like them. I can't wait to share the experiences on the blog.
Last Friday, we did a lesson in CC Meeting that was pretty powerful. Rusty's Bully Byte of the week was that Bullies look for weaknesses. Weaknesses are reasons they pick on other people. So, I had the kids draw an outline of a kid. I then had them tell me things to add to the person that would make them a target for being bullied. We added glasses, unibrows, messed up teeth, big ears, ratty clothes, pants that were too short, shoes with holes in them, crutches, a missing hand, and others. These were kid's responses as to what the weaknesses they have faced before. They were not teacher driven. We then talked about the fact that yes, they would most likely be teased about all of these things, possibly even to the point of being bullied. So, what do we do about it? We prepare for it. If we wear glasses, then we create a response to say to a bully if they tease us about it. We are ready for it! Or, we try to change our weaknesses. We can ask our parents to get us clothes that fit or clean them. We can ask school to help shop if funds are tight. We have programs for that. We can switch to contacts when we get older rather than glasses. Then we talked lastly about accepting our natural weaknesses like spaces in our teeth or calics in our hair. I gave them examples from my own life. I was teased for the space between my teeth growing up. My parents couldn't afford to get me braces. Luckily for me, I LOVED David Letterman and Madonna growing up, both famous people that have gaps between their teeth. They had the money to fix them and didn't. I found power in that. So, when people would tease me about it, I would simply say, I know, but I want to be just like Madonna or David Letterman. Then we would both laugh and the teasing would stop. I was prepared. I was ready for teasing. Most importantly though, I was ok with the weakness and turned it into a strength. Telling kids that I was teased helped ease things. Ms. Erickson was teased and she made it through. It gives kids confidence to know that the people they look up to were just like them. May I encourage you to do the same. Share your stories from their age. Share how you dealt with bullies and teasing. (Hopefully not with violence, or if so that you discovered a better way eventually). Kids need to know they are not alone in this area of life, and that we are here to help them prepare. I also encourage you to make sure they are walking out of the house without weaknesses. Do their clothes fit? Are they clean? Is their hair brushed? Have they showered daily? These simple things in life are not a big deal to kids, but when they are teased for them, they become a big deal. Above is the picture we created as a class showing some of these weaknesses.
We had our Award's Assembly on Friday. Above are the winners of the awards. Great job kiddos! Now, let's add more kids to that list in 3rd quarter's assembly!!! I will be watching for a certain kiddo that is showing strong effort to improve for the Bobcat award. They all can do it!
Kenzi was our star of the week this week. She brought in some pictures of her with her family. She had a lot to share about each picture. By the end, we finally figured out who lived in Montana and who lived in Utah. :0) She also shared her favorite Sponge Bob DS game. It was fun to learn even more about our Kenzi!
I am happy to say that we will resume our Montana History studies this week. We will be venturing into Westward Expansion. We will spend a lot of time this week and next learning about Lewis and Clark's adventure and all those that they came in contact with. Mrs. Hankins and I were awarded some money to spend from Indian Ed For All. We bought some fun supplies for each kiddo to recreate the actual trail they took. Mrs. Hankins and I have also been asked to put on some workshops this summer to teach other teachers how to create these fun notebooks that kids love! What an honor!
There are three new videos on Rusty's site for parents. They are good ones yet again! Please take the time to watch them with your kiddos and have a quality discussion with the tool box questions. If you do this, even just one show, please write RUSTY in the planner for $20 on Monday. I will ask kiddos what they discussed with you. It is fun for us to hear what kids are talking about at home.
Lastly, we have PE on Monday. Yes, we have school on Monday!!!!! You might have the day off, but we do not. It is a regular school week.
Have a great Sunday!
