Nature Name: Champion of the Sun

Most beautiful moment of peace in the mountains

This is going to be poorly written. I know it, and am sorry. Maybe I'll edit tomorrow but no promises-- I'm so behind on posts and just want to be up-to-date, and this is my last one for the night!

It still is incredible to me that our big 4th grade field trip is taking our students to Switzerland for a week. The trust that must take for our families is so huge, and it really does reap amazing benefits. Last year it was one of my favorite weeks of the year, and this year was no different. 

So much joy!

I've been struggling a little bit because there are so many times with this group of kids that I'm just like, "UGHHH WHY DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO DO THIS!?!?! JUST FIGURE IT OUT!!!!" But since I don't want to scar them for life with memories of a verbally abusive teacher, I just keep that to myself and sweetly and calmly say things like, "What independent step could you take?" or "How could you be a problem-solver?" What I need to keep in mind is that the students I'm comparing them to are end-of-the-year-4th-graders, and these are beginning-of-the-year-4th-graders, and I need to give them a break. 

This week away at camp has such an amazing effect on the students, and they gain so much independence through natural consequences. The examples I give might seem small, but they really are huge for these children. Each morning we go up to the lodge for breakfast before heading out for the day's activities. If a child forgets something, they have to go back down to camp and get it. That will happen about 10 times for each child the first few days: coats, backpacks, water bottles, hiking boots, indoor shoes, etc. are left in rooms and need to be retrieved. If they're forgotten after they've left for the activity, well, they don't have it for the day. The first few days are full of many trips up and down the hill but by the end of the week, everyone remembers what they need. Before dinner each night, the kids have an hour of free time to play with their friends, shower, read, write in journals, or spend time the way they'd like. The choices they make in this time show so much problem-solving; one room set up a shower schedule so nobody missed free-time each day. Another boy spent Wednesday packing so that he wouldn't have to the next day and could spend his last day stress-free. Little things like this truly make an enormous difference in these kids, and I absolutely love seeing them change and grow over the course of the week.

They're not even posing. This actually just happened. I love 4th graders :)

Relaxing after a challenging hike, while the group hops
back and forth over the France/Switzerland boarder

My absolutely favorite part of the week is the hike. Our fourth-graders were split into four groups, with two groups hiking each day. I went with a different group on both days, and met up for lunch and the second half of the hike with the other two. It's not too far of a hike, but takes a while with 10-12 kids in tow. They bring sandwiches they've made themselves, and we picnic halfway through the day. Along the way the kids learn songs, pick flowers, find perfect hiking sticks, learn about the plants that they're seeing, and form new friendships. The most incredible part of the hike comes right after the steepest climb; we hike from Switzerland to France. It's a struggle for many of them (not going to lie, for me as well), but on both days I watched the most athletic little ones rush up to the top of the hill where the border was and cheer on their classmates as each one made it to the top. We played a game where everyone stood in a line in Switzerland, and the counselor would yell "Switzerland" or "France" and the kids would jump back and forth from country to country. It was so amazing!

I take it back- my favorite part is the bond that I develop with the kids throughout the week. These are definitely called "Bonding Trips" for a reason! Being able to see them outside of the classroom lets me see them in a whole new light- their personalities shine as they hike to the top of a mountain and take in the beauty of nature that surrounds them. We say that their counselors become the teachers and teachers become the parents, and I feel like that's pretty accurate- we take on the comforting, hand-holding, nurturing role that they need while away from their parents, and it creates a trust that carries back to the classroom. The learning environment at school is so different when we return. They bond so much with their counselors too- one of my little boys was so sad to be leaving that he couldn't even participate in last day activities; he just wanted to cling to the wonderful lady who had been leading him through the wilderness for the last 5 days! Our week in Torgon is amazing, and we are all so lucky to have it. 

It's a Tough Life

In Morocco, I was so sick I felt like maybe I was going to die. 

It was the absolute worst. The most awful part was that we weren't staying still; between staying with different families and the constant bus rides and activities, I couldn't just lay in bed and sleep it off. Ugh. Poor Holly got sick for our trip to Nice. After WebMDing her symptoms, I spent another good hour looking up hospitals in the area and French phrases I might need to get her help for her deadly meningitis. We're pretty sure it was a migraine now.

This was the only accommodation we booked through Airbnb, which worked out well for the most part. For the sake of contrast later in this post, I'll give a few details about our little apartment: you walk into a tiny hallway with a bathroom to one side and a living room to your front. The living room is also the bedroom and kitchen, and the tiny love seat pulls out into a bed that literally fills the entire room. Like, you can open the mini fridge door, and that's the extent of the non-bed space. There was a second bed upstairs in a little loft. This was also the only time in our trip where we had separate beds, and thank goodness because I didn't want Holly's sicky germs! To get up to the loft, which consisted of a twin bed and space for me to sit my suitcase but not to stand, we pulled a ladder down from the ceiling from the hall. Only problem with the loft was that the bathroom door couldn't open if the loft stairs were down and you couldn't really get to the front door. The bathroom was very strange in that the shower was on a platform that just flooded out onto the floor. There was also no hot water. But it was very inexpensive and the perfect location, so absolutely fine by me!

View from Castle Hill

After feeling confident that she wasn't actually going to die, I set out to explore some of my favorite places in Nice and a few that I haven't seen before. We were staying on Place Garibaldi, which was just a few steps away from Old Town. Markets, cute little soap shops, etc. Again I need to chide myself on the fact that I didn't do my research... Grrr. While sitting down by Pebble Beach and looking through a tourist packet, I realized there was so much more to do and I didn't have time to do it all! Before returning home to check on Holly though, I did make the climb up to Castle Hill, an amazing lookout point and the area once occupied by the Celtic Ligurians. I could have spent the whole day up there!

On an island off the coast of Cannes

The absolute best part of our Nice trip was on our third afternoon. 

One of my student's family has a house in the hills in the area, and were so kind to invite us to spend the day with them on their boat. Now, before reading any further, make a mental image (haha teacher-talk) of the apartment we stayed in. Is it In your head? Good- please continue. Oh my gosh, it was unbelievable. The boat itself was unlike anything I've ever seen, let alone thought I'd be cruising along the French Riviera on. The first thing we saw (Holly was better at this point) was that the boat had a three person crew. They were all probably under 30, and though they did amazing, hard work, they also were a ton of fun and hung around with the family. My student (we'll call her Ginny for the sake of privacy- when we need nicknames for a game in class that's usually what she picks) took us on a tour of the boat and I think I just walked through with my mouth hanging open. There were four bedrooms downstairs, and the bathroom was better and probably bigger than the one in my apartment. On the ground floor there was a kitchen, living room, and a deck with a nice dining room table. You could walk down a narrow corridor on either side of the boat to the front and catch some rays. If you went upstairs, there was a grill, the navigation system, couches, and another big table. I have no words. Well, I guess I do because I just described it, but not really. It was incredible.

The church and abbey

Anyways, after our tour, the captain set sail for an island off of Cannes where we anchored for the day. 

Lunch was a three course meal and was maybe some of the best food I've ever eaten. After, we went over in the little dingy to explore Saint Honorat, a beautiful island full of monks and wineries and a castle. Remember how I said that Venice made me think of 'Man in the Iron Mask?' Well. As it turns out, the filming was done on the island opposite from us! So cool! It was just the most wonderful day. My little student is the one who made me all of those Harry Potter posters and is such a sweetie, and she couldn't come from a nicer family. The mother's sister, parents, brother-in-law, and niece were there along with Ginny, her brother, and parents so you'd think it would be crowded... But no. I think Holly might have been a little nervous because she didn't know any of them at all, but they're comfortable to be around, easy to make conversation with, and a ton of fun. It was such an awesome day!!

Our little island crew

The monastery looked like a castle! 

Last thoughts for the day: I will be conversational in Italian by this time next year. I felt so horrible and rude hardly being able to communicate with some of the family. Ginny's dad told me that he starts off every week with an hour of Spanish lessons and an hour of English lessons. That's the smartest way to make to set yourself off on the right note. I'm gonna do it! Only with Italian, not English because, you know... I already know it...

Muggle Studies

After sitting with a group of my students at lunch today, I'm going to check another item off the list. We spent the half hour excitedly discussing the wizarding world, how sad it must be to be Harry Potter, and why it's way better to read the book before watching the movie. I'm going to say Mission Complete on this one.

My kids are so good to me. 

One of my girls brought these in for her birthday today :)

My favorite caption is "Harry the hot guy (your future husband)"

This is me arriving at Hogwarts (or Hogwards)

"Field Trip" to Switzerland

Most adorable little old couple that I saw walking around all week 

Saint Oyen- Mom and Dad, this is your future town!

When I was in elementary school, field trips were to the museum or planetarium. 

On one particularly exciting Girl Scout outing, we slept at the zoo. At my new school, 4th grade and up takes week long "Bonding Trips" all around Europe, and I was lucky enough to be a part of the trip to Torgon, Switzerland with 34 nine year olds.

Hiking boots and leggings
to work=awesome

For weeks leading up to the trip, the kids asked billions of questions. 

We'd set aside the "Activity" or "Share" time of Morning Meeting (usually, Morning Meeting includes Message, Greeting, Activity, and Share) to talk about what we were excited or worried about for the trip, and for me to answer as many questions as I could. Seeing as I'd never been on the trip either, I didn't always have a ton of answers! We left at 8:15am on Monday morning, waving goodbye to tearful parents. Most of the kids had never even been to a sleepover, so leaving the country for a week was a huge deal! We got pretty lucky on the bus ride- no pukers :) I cant even explain how beautiful the drive was- all mountain views and picturesque villages (Mom and Dad, I found your future town! Saint Oyen, Italy). 

View from the lodge was AMAZING!

Around lunch time, we pulled into Torgon.

There were six wonderful, amazing, fun, helpful counselors (all with awesome nature names!) that divided the kids into three groups. We tried to make the groups so there were an even number from each class, split up any kids that fought (or girls who brought out each others' mean sides!), and weren't sleeping in the same rooms. The actual camp itself was pretty nice. There was a building with a dining room, a little sitting area, and upstairs, a rock climbing wall. Then there was the lodge where we all slept. Dividing them into groups of 4 or 5, where each kid was with at least one person they chose (we had them list 5 people they'd like to be with), kids who fought weren't in the same room, and no one who wasn't a native Italian speaker was stuck alone in a room with all Italians was hard work, but eventually it worked out! The other teachers and I each had our own rooms. For the most part, the rooms were great! The only bad part was that the doors were really hard to open, so I walked into the rooms many times to tell the kids to quiet down only to find someone desperately trying to get the stuck bathroom door open. 

Starting the hike on Day 1.

Monday and Friday were mostly travel, but the teachers and I split up the days so we could be with each group for a day.

Tuesday I went on the hike. The other two days were split into two day time activities but hike day was all day. I'm not really sure what this means in miles (8 maybe?) but about 12km of hike was so much for such little kiddos! It really was incredible though. The mountains were gorgeous, and it was sweet to see how much the kids supported each other. 

One of my little photographers

My absolute favorite part was the solo hike. 

   

I went ahead and the counselor stayed back, sending kids off one by one in minute intervals so they could hike for about 15 minutes alone, listening to the sounds of nature. It was so peaceful! One of my little guys was so sweet; he finished first and as each kid came to the stopping point, he'd meet them to give a high five or a hug and say good job. They all supported each other and were so caring. One little guy was having a lot of trouble and was soooooo slow (my arm hurt so badly the next day from literally dragging/carrying him up the mountain), so they let him set the pace by making him the leader. When he'd stop they'd all start up with encouraging words and congratulating him on how well he was doing. 

Even the cows were cooler in Switzerland!

It was nice to divide up the days because then we'd get to see all of the different activities but also get to know the entire 4th grade and not just our own classes.

One of the best parts for the kids was all of the independence. They got to make their own sandwiches for lunch, and felt so grown up doing it! And while we would tell them they really needed to take showers and brush their teeth, it was mostly up to them (until they got too stinky) when they made the time to do it. They also learned to "Bust a 50" or "Bust a 100" in the woods... It's the little things  that make them happy heehee. 

So cute with their walking sticks. They spent all
week trying to find the perfect one!

I'd love to show all the kids mud facepaint, but I don't
think I'm allowed, so I'll just show mine!

The other two days were full of lots of different groups and activities. 

In "Living With Nature" they learned to make a shelter and build a fire, and in "Earth Works" they learned about ecosystems and played a bunch of fun games. That one they particularly loved, maybe in part because the leader was Italian and would explain things to them in their own language (the other counselors were Portuguese, Hungarian, South African, and two Americans). The next day we went to "Where Are We," where they learned to read and make maps and use a compass, and went rock climbing. 

To me, the most challenging part was being one of the three Mom's to all the kids. 

Fourth grade is at the older end of elementary school, but they still really are such babies! From nannying days, I remember putting one kid to bed is enough of a challenge, but 34? Ahhhh so crazy!!! At the same time, it was one of my favorite parts. It gave me such a different perspective on the children in my class, and helped me to bond with those who weren't. From my class, my strongest little girl was the one who cried the most over missing her parents, and the little boy I hadn't connected much with yet was the one who held my hand during the "Fluffy Clouds" portion of the night, and asked to borrow one of the stuffed animals I brought since he had forgotten his. Fluffy Clouds was AWESOME! One of the other teachers did this visualization technique that put the kids right to sleep. One of the rooms was all my boys, though we did try to prevent any all-one-class rooms. I'm pretty heavy on terms of endearment (I know, you're probably thinking, "You? Really? I don't believe it."), so I'm always calling them my little darlings or little angels. I went into the boys room to say goodnight and they all had glow sticks on their heads like halos and were like, "Look Miss Streisel! We're you're little angels!" Gahhhh I love being a teacher so much!

My little guy in blue congratulated
every kids accomplishments... Love him!

So many new friendships! The girls in the back are both
 in my class, but hadn't bonded until the trip

Anyways, as homesick as some of them were (I literally had to pull a few onto my lap and hold them until the hysterical crying stopped a bunch of times!), they were so sad to leave and loved camp. The bus ride back was also smooth, and although one girl turned completely green (I finally know what people mean when they say that!), there was no throwing up. The only downer was how obsessed with watching "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" the kids were. Isn't that weird? I remember watching it once when I was little, but despite how old it is they all loved it. Probably the most annoying, high pitched movie on Earth. What made it better was hearing their little accents refer to the movie over and over again as "Shitty Shitty Bang Bang." Hehehe. What a week :)

The bus driver saw me trying to take a picture of the beautiful view and stopped for
me to take this one. Whatta guy :)

P.S. If anyone knows privacy laws better than I do, PLEASE let me know if any of the pictures of my kiddos aren't okay. I think back of the head pictures should be fine, but feel free to message me if I'm doing anything wrong!! Grazie mille :)

P.S.S. I crossed the first item off of "The List!" Woohoo! Eating chocolate in Switzerland: Completed. 

They Call Me Miss Streisel

A few months ago, I posted about all the reasons I knew everything would be just fine, despite how stressed out I was. I'm beginning to understand that "stressed" is just my natural state, and that it's convinent that my name is Jesye because then I can call my stressed, OCD, freaking-out alter-ego "Stressy Jesye" and it rhymes, which is nice :) At the bottom of that post there is a video called "Jessica's Daily Affirmation" (it's not me, I swear!) that pretty much sums up how I feel about my life right now. But seriously, life is great.

I've talked a little about school, but haven't uploaded any pictures or gone into much detail. Please prepare yourself for a picture-heavy post!

I really couldn't ask for a more welcoming, supportive place to start my career. First of all, the staff and administration are wonderful. I'm never going to be able to work any where else, I'm too spoiled now. The principal knew I was nervous about Curriculum Night on Thursday and made time earlier in the day to meet with me about it, and then was in my classroom within minutes after parents had left to see how it had gone. It had gone wonderfully! I had been so nervous that parents would be like, "What are you doing, you're like 12. Get outta here," but they were all supportive and really seemed excited about the year! I recieved a few emails the next day that made me so happy. This is truly my calling.

My first bulletin board of the year :) The kids wrote out their hopes and
dreams for the year on handprints they traced. 

Some of their goals

Most grade levels have pretty small class sizes; usually 18-21ish, tops. 

Somehow, I only have 14 students, and one has yet to come to school. So really, I have 13 students. They are the most adorable, sweet group in the world. It's awesome having such a small class, and it really lets me have the chance to get to know every student. There is one little boy from Ecuador (he calls it Equator), a girl from Greece who has also lived in Romania and Serbia, a boy from Korea who is adorable but basically speaks no English at all, and a sweet little girl from Russia. I think the boy who hasn't been to school yet is from either Pakistan or Egypt (I've heard both).

The rest of my students are Italian. Most of them speak English pretty well, but it's funny how difficult communicating phrases or ideas I take for granted are. For example, one of my little boys was trying to explain to me about a "marmotta" he had seen and the way he described it made it sound like a chipmunk. I looked it up later and it was just a marmot, but for the rest of the story, every time he'd refer to the animal he'd say, "And thees uh, 'cheepmonk'," in his cute little Italian accent, putting 'cheepmonk' (with an o, not a u) in air-quotes each time he'd say it. Too funny. I'm supposed to enforce an English-only policy, but at times I let my little Ecuadorian boy use a word in Spanish and teach it to him in English, and the kids sometimes need to ask each other how to say something in English and speak in Italian for a minute before figuring out how to say what they want to say.

I had heard that there is a honeymoon period with teaching where the kids are super well behaved and respectful for the first week or two, and then all hell breaks loose. I had the opposite experience. Because I went into this thinking no one would take me seriously or respect me as professional because I look young, I decided to be super upfront with an "I have nothing to hide" attitude. I thought, I'd tell anyone who asked what I'd done before that I had just gotten my Masters and worked with third and fifth grade. If they pried deeper, I wouldn't hesitate to say that it had been student teaching, but I wouldn't just offer up the information. So when my students asked how old I was, I was pretty straightforward with them and told them I was 23. One of my little girls jokingly asked if I was sure I wasn't in high school, and I laughed it off but then that became something the kids said over and over and over (and over and over) again for dayyyyyyys. I'd say no, and they'd say, "But are you sure? Are you really sure you're not?" Yes I'm sure, now shut up! Really though, when parents, students, and other teachers ask me, "Are you a teacher or a student?"... grrrr. Kanye understands. It became such a problem that I actually had to sit the group down and tell them they were never ever allowed to ask about my age again. Ever. It was a rule. Since then, we really haven't had any issues! Wonderful, sweet little kids.

The atrium of my beautiful school

Outside of my classroom, the school is just as amazing. 

The teachers I've met have been so welcoming and helpful, and as I've said before the administration is great. On the Friday of our first week back, there was an after school celebration in the cafeteria for finishing our first week. Ok, sounds nice, party in the cafeteria. Except instead of just chips and dip with some diet Coke as I'd expected, there were different cakes, pastries, hor d'ouervres (including smoked salmon), and a few different types of wine and champagne. And if he couldn't get any cooler, the principal came over to our table to tell me and some of the other new teachers about where you could fill up empty wine and olive oil bottles on tap in Opera. Wait, what? Wine and olive oil? On tap? Only Italy.

Doesn't get more rewarding than this!

It's such a rewarding job. 

My kids make my day with letters they write me during Work on Writing time, journal and blog entries about how they don't have a favorite part of the day because it's all so fun,  and they've even started leaving me little gifts. One little girl left the cutest bookmark on my desk because I used a Post-It note to mark the place in our read-aloud, and when I told some students that had borrowed books on dinosaurs from the library that I loooooved learning about dinosaurs and Jurassic Park was my favorite movie, one little guy brought me some dinosaur stickers the next day. I'm so happy. I don't know how I'll ever teach anywhere else, because I don't think there could be a better school and I don't think this is the norm.

Just signing my life away...

The other day I had to go to the Questura to have some paperwork filled out for my work visa and when I got back to the classroom the kids literally attacked me with hugs and said to never leave them again (off topic, but going to all these meetings and signing all these papers in Italian is so stressful. I could be selling myself into slavery and wouldn't know the difference. I'm like, "Oh sure, I'll sign these contracts that I have no idea what they say. Why not?!"). It made my day though, knowing that they liked going to school and liked having me as a teacher!

Call me Miss Streisel. Or Khaleesi.
Either's fine.

Again, I just have to say...

I LIKE MY MOM!
I LIKE MY DAD!
I LIKE MY SISTERS!
I LIKE MY HAIR!
I LIKE MY SCHOOL!
I LIKE MY JOB!
I LIKE MY ROOMS!
I LIKE MY WHOLE HOUSE!
I LIKE MY LIFE!!!
I CAN DO ANYTHING GOOD!

If you think I'm being random, seriously go watch that video . So good.

And now for some pictures! 

Well... I've already showed pictures, but for the classroom tour!

This is what I walked into... Gulp! So much was there, but there was just an unbelievable amount to do in such a short amount of time!

Classroom view from my desk... I moved the smaller (still huge!) taller bookcase all by myself wootwoot!

My desk with our schedule and job chart

The Writing Center, our class rules, and the Morning Message

We started our poetry unit... the posters are our "Poet-tree" and the Poetry Battle Bracket

My reading area and Daily 5/CAFE board!

I love all my storage space! The Word Wall is on the cabinets; every time there is a new vocabulary word,
the kids add it to the wall. 

View from the door. You can see our Morse Code names in the back! 

I love my classroom :)

The class library. I brought over so many books!

Classroom view from the library!