Blog Archives

Pink Out Day--October 29

10/29/2018

Hello Readers--We have a lot in this post today! As always, stay current by reading our weekly newsletter by clicking the link below.

https://www.smore.com/rpkzt

I hope you all enjoy pictures! Our post today will be filled with pictures. If you remember a couple weeks ago our quote was about leaves falling and how it shows us that it's beautiful to let things go. I also mentioned last week that the tree was not very pretty. As I pulled into the parking lot this morning, it was if the heavens had opened and was shining down on that sassafras tree. It was so pretty that I had to take the kids out to get their picture. Enjoy the pic below, BUT please don't stop reading from there. We have so much to share with our readers today.

As you can see in the picture, our entire class participated for pink out day. All students had something pink on. I have been looking forward to this day for several weeks, as I knew it was pink out day and also a Monday. We have come to love Mondays in Room 16. Breast Cancer strikes a very personal note for me. I was nervous about how exactly I was going to approach talking to the students about this topic. I began with a personal account of how breast cancer affected my family. At 25, my big sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. I have never mentioned this to this group of students before, but several had questions because I had a special shirt on today. Our nurse, Mrs. Williams, is quite the t-shirt designer.

We talked a lot about what happened, how it happened, and my feelings. The students were laser focused. It amazed me how involved they were in my story. It was probably one of my favorite times as a teacher. For 45 minutes we forgot about curriculum, data, pacing guides, and that dreaded introduction lesson to division and instead, focused on life. My students saw a glimpse of their teacher they hadn't seen before. We learned from each other. Then it was time for the quote. The students for the most part each week enjoy the quotes, but for them, none have ever out shined the second quote. You can ask my students at any time what their favorite quote is and they will tell you to face the sun and leave your worries in the shadows. That quote struck them in a meaningful way and no quote since then has made such an impression....Until today.

"She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails."

Wow--There was silence when I read it. At first I thought they didn't get it, so I read it again. After the second time there were a couple responses. "This is my favorite!" "I get it, I get it!" We discussed in detail what the storms represented and what it means to turn their sails. I've said this every week. Students only go as far as you push them. They were only scratching the surface, but finally a student said the sweetest words. I can't quote what the child said exactly, because it struck me hard, and I was really focusing on holding the tears back. This was the gist though.

When people like your sister get cancer, that is terrible news for them. Storms are also terrible. Getting cancer is a hard storm. But when the storm stops and you realize the wind didn't blow you away all you have to do is turn and find the wind. The wind will push those people through.

Well shoot--snotty nose, watery eyes, and a quiet classroom was just thrown in my lap.

It was a beautiful moment. This student explained this quote better than I could have. Students listen and respond to their peers better anyway. I decided it was time to switch gears a bit. If you remember, last week I asked our readers to send me pictures of special people who have fought breast cancer. I pulled each picture up and we made personal connections. People they didn't know personally, I helped along the way until we made a connection. That even took a quick phone call to another campus!

Awareness days like today are meant to make us want to do things, to encourage others, and to lift others up. I couldn't help but sit back and soak in the curiosity, love for others, and urge to help other people that my students showed to me today. One hour later, we wrapped it up and the students wrote letters. They addressed it to :

Dear Breast Cancer Survivor

I'm not posting all the letters as some students asked me to keep it private. Some days are better than others. Today was special for me. Make relationships with your students. When you do, you see precious things like these letters. At the bottom of this post are the pictures that were sent to us. Enjoy!

Until Next Week,
Mr. B

PS--I really struggled getting these pics in this week. If a picture is cut off or you don't see the caption, just click the picture. Sorry!

Dear Breast Cancer Survivor,

"I hope that you have hope and strength. Keep on smiling. We are all with you. #staystrongandbrave "

"Keep on fighting and be brave and never give up. Stay strong."

"I think that you can survive. I think that you are strong and brave."

"You are strong, great, and beautiful. I hope you survive and stay strong."

"It must be hard to face breast cancer. Keep smiling and never give up."

"I'm so happy you survived breast cancer. You must have been so brave and confident. #yousurvived"

"You are strong and brave. I think you are perfect and great!"

"I hope you stay strong and be brave and never give up and I always will have you in my prayers and my heart."

In Honor of our Survivors

Juliana Parker's Grandmother

Tena Dobbins

In Memory Of Our Brave Fighters

2 Comments

Keep the Quote--October 22

10/22/2018

3 Comments

We started another week today.   As an update to last week, our tree on the playground hasn’t changed colors yet. As a matter of fact, it looks very ugly right now. I hope that it doesn’t disappoint this year. Fingers crossed!

In other news, we had Parent/Conferences last Thursday. Room 16 had 90% attendance rate! I appreciate each visit we had. When we work together we see a huge spike in progress in the classroom. Click the link below to stay aware of what is happening this week. You will also see a family picture of my star student this week, Avery.

https://www.smore.com/nq8ac

I appreciate all the kind words and posts about our Star Student Yard Signs.   I will be moving the sign around every Friday. I can’t wait to surprise the next student.

This week’s quote is actually from an Aesop's Fable--The Lion and the Mouse.

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

I was excited to introduce this quote, as I love fables! I was surprised as well that none of my students could tell me the story of the the The Lion and the Mouse. For my readers who don’t remember the story, here is a quick recap.

In the fable, a lion wants to eat a mouse who wakes him up. The mouse begs forgiveness and promises to return the favor if ever he is given the opportunity. He also makes the point that such unworthy prey, as he, should not stain the lion’s great paws. The lion is moved to uncontrollable laughter and when he recovers, lets the mouse go, stating that he has not had such a good laugh in ages. Later, the lion is captured by hunters and tied to a tree; the lion roars with all his might so that someone might help him. The mouse hears the lion’s pleas and frees him by gnawing through the ropes. The moral of this story is stated in the last line of the fable:
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

After giving the students the gist of the fable, we talked a bit about random acts of kindness. We talked about how kindness spreads like wildfire. I showed the kids a quick video (found below) about what kindness does to our bodies and how it makes people feel. Later in the day, we talked a bit more about the quote. The students wrote two acts of kindness they want to do this week for an unsuspecting person.   Of course, I don’t want to spoil any surprises, but this week, just as those in the past, these kids continue to amaze me.

One student summed it up perfectly as we were getting ready for the bus dismissal.

“Everyone needs to be kinder. If I’m ever in a bind like the lion, I hope I have treated people good enough that they want to free me and not walk by me!”

Until next week,
Mr. B

P.S.--Dear Readers--Next Monday South Elementary is having a Pink Out Day in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. As you all know, this is a special cause for me! If you have someone you would like my class to honor who has fought breast cancer, please let us know. Send us a picture, name, and anything else you want us to know. We want to celebrate those who are fighting and remember those who lost their fight. We hope to hear from you all!

3 Comments

Bumper Stickers Were So Last Year...

10/16/2018

1 Comment

Bumper Stickers were so last year...

Today was a special day! A few weeks back I saw an idea where a teacher placed a yard sign in the yards of her students to recognize their achievements. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to implement this for my students. After getting approval from my principal, the Votech designed and created the yard signs for me. I picked the signs up today and they look fantastic. My next door neighbor teacher, Mrs. Caldwell, liked the idea so much she had signs made too. After school today, we drove around town and delivered the signs to one deserving student in each of our rooms. Attached in a protective sleeve on the back was a congratulations letter, a hand written note, and a coupon for a free sub from Subway. Mrs. Caldwell and I had an absolute blast delivering the signs. The pictures below can attest to that! We weren't caught at either house, but my first student did find her sign and sent a picture before I posted this blog entry. See her sweet smile below. Congratulations to Avery. Be on the lookout! You never know where you will find us! We will deliver signs each Friday!

1 Comment

Keep the Quote--October 15th

10/15/2018

1 Comment

Today we started 2nd quarter! Thanks to my readers, the students were excited to count over 600 visits to last week’s post! We had several people express interest in providing kites for the kids. We will be having a kite flying day very soon!

Congrats to the kiddos for making it 9 weeks with me! Also, I want to congratulate the 17 students who met and exceeded their AR goals for first quarter!   Mr. B is proud of you!

I also want to take some time out to introduce you to Shayna Duffy. Shayna is a preservice teacher. She is finishing her final block of courses before she begins student teaching in the spring.   I’ve had the opportunity to have Shayna as a student in three of her college courses: Technology for Teachers, Diversity in American Schools, and School Law. She is a hard worker and we are lucky to have her in class. She will be with us on Wednesdays from now through December.

For up to date info click the link below to see our newsletter:
https://www.smore.com/2nj3a

Now onto the fun stuff.   Our quote this week is one I saw circulating around social media at the first blast of fall air a few weeks ago.   As soon as I read it, I knew I wanted it for our classroom.

“The trees are about to show us how beautiful it is to let things go.” --Anonymous

I have been sitting on this quote for a couple of weeks.   For my readers who are familiar with the playground at South Elementary, you know why!   We are so fortunate to have several trees on our playground. Most are century old trees!   One in particular, turns red, like it’s on fire! It’s so beautiful! Unfortunately though, it only lasts for a few days.   I was hoping to introduce this quote when the tree was in all of its beauty. It’s just beginning to show signs of changing. I was afraid if I waited until next Monday, that it may be naked!

This quote is beautiful. As we gathered on the carpet to discuss the quote, the kids immediately began calling out ideas for the meaning. It helped that we have been discussing photosynthesis and that I picked out a story for reading today that dealt with leaf changes. Of course, the kids were excited to tell me why the trees lose their leaves in the Fall. We even got into a discussion of chlorophyll, carotenoids, and anthocyanin and the roles those chemicals play in leaf color. At one point the kids laughed. I paused a moment and a student said, “Guys, he knows about the colors of fall. He doesn’t want us to talk about that!” They have realized that I don’t necessarily want them to see the obvious meaning in the quote.

I asked what symbolism they could see in this quote.   A student responded that he knew there was beauty in the leaves changing color, but that the tree is left looking dead. He said he just didn’t see the beauty in that. We got into some deep conversation very quickly. In a roundabout way, I described how it must be so freeing for the trees to let everything fall away and realize that they can face the world with nothing to hide behind. When they are exposed to the winter elements, their roots are strong enough to withstand anything the world brings. Of course, I couldn’t stop there. I try to encourage the students each week to be “them.” The same thing can be said about all of us. Sometimes we are scared to let ourselves become uncovered. We think we need the status and the look and the friends that society deems as "cool." But once all that is stripped away and the person we truly are is unveiled for the world to see, we learn one thing. People who like us, will like us. And the people who don’t, won’t. But we have gained strength in knowing that, like the trees, we have let all the excess go and are still standing strong. We are rooted in the ground and we are strong enough to withstand anything the world brings to us.

As the recess bell interrupted our conversation, I ended with these words. I want to end this blog with the same words...A reminder to my students and my readers:

As the trees show us the beauty in letting go of their leaves, let us show the world our own beauty. Let’s let go of all that holds us back from becoming who we truly are.

Until next week,

Mr. B

P.S.--Here's our tree!   We will post an update as it progresses in color!

1 Comment

Keep the Quote--October 8th

10/8/2018

1 Comment

This is our last week of 1st quarter!   I can’t believe that! Time flies when you're having fun! Of course you can keep track of our week by clicking the link below for our newsletter.

https://www.smore.com/ph8fa

Our "Keep the Quote" project has been more successful and far reaching than I could have ever imagined. The kids are so excited about the quotes. We are learning so much from each other and they are engaged.   They love to view the analytics of the blog and map our readers. The students have been used to seeing the blog hit between 400-500 readers each week. This past week they barely broke 120! They were a bit disappointed, but I told them not to worry! So, if you have family or friends who would enjoy reading our stories, share the blog with them.   Now is not the time for them to lose momentum!! I want to keep it exciting for them!

This week’s proverb comes from Russia.

“There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out.”

This is an adage that encourages learning and knowledge. It means that ignorance is not a crime, but if you realize that you are lacking information about something, you should educate yourself. When there is something that you don’t understand, you should do everything you can to learn more about it. There is nobility in wanting to learn and expand your knowledge and understanding.

Of course, I had just a few eye rolls when I asked for the students to think about what this quote meant.   A couple students responded, “Yes, Mr. Bradshaw. When we can’t do math or science you want us to practice so we will learn.” I totally agreed. I want them to excel academically, but I also want them to be critical thinkers. Our conversations started out about things we would like to know about, but don’t and how we can educate ourselves. I told them to think about it in a different way, however. This is why I have enjoyed the quotes so much. Everyone thinks differently and interprets differently. After a few minutes of discussion we turned the tables a bit and I asked them to think about relationships they have with friends.   I asked them how we could interpret this quote with relationships. A student explained it perfectly.

“I have made friends mad before. I had no idea why, but we went a long time without speaking to each other. After several weeks I finally found out that he didn’t hear what I said at recess and thought I was making fun of him. If I had only asked him and found out why, we could have solved the problem the same day. I didn’t want to find out because I was mad.”

10 year-olds are wiser than you realize.   Of course, we have the rest of the week to talk about this proverb. We will journal more about relationships and this proverb. The students had such good conversation about things they wanted to know but didn’t possess a strong foundational knowledge of. I concluded our discussion by asking them to jot down a couple sentences about something they find interesting but don’t understand. Some of the answers were priceless. Some I can help the students with, others I can’t. THANK the Lord!!!!

Here are a few examples

“I’ve never been able to fly a kite. Maybe I can watch a video to see what I’m doing wrong.”

“I want to know more about tennis, but I have no idea what any of the rules are.”

“I have no idea how to drive a car, but I sure want too.” (sorry pal…)

So, if you are out and about and see kites on sale for the end of the season...Let this teacher know.   I need 22 kites so we can have some fun!

With the exception of my students, I would say the majority of the readers of this blog are adults. I leave you adults with this advice. In the world we live in, we are quick to judge and assume. Please remember this proverb.   Unawareness isn’t simply a lack of knowledge but a rejection of education. As long as we are open to finding out more, we will never stop learning.

Until next week,

Mr. B

1 Comment

Keep the Quote--October 1st

10/1/2018

1 Comment

Happy October!   We had a great start to a new week and new month!   Click the link below to see what’s happening this week!

https://www.smore.com/z0rpg

The students were excited again today to see what quote I had picked out for them. Our quote this week comes from Sweden.

“Those who wish to sing always find a song.”

This was a great way to start out the week. It really made the point that you can do what you set out to do.   If you want to sing, you will sing. If you want to find happiness, you will find it.   This proverb is a reminder that you will find whatever it is that you are looking for. No matter what happens in your life, you can choose to face it cheerfully, or you can choose to be unhappy. Human beings have a strong will and great power over their own minds. Everyone faces difficulties in their life, but if you choose happiness, you will always find something to feel happy about.

I had a student tell me that she has a hard time trying to be positive.   She asked if I ever struggled with it. I told her ABSOLUTELY! I went on to tell her that as a matter of fact my central air unit went out this weekend and I’m very uncertain about whether it is going to be able to be fixed or if I need a new unit.   I woke up feeling stressed out about it, but I had a choice to make. I could meet them at the door with stress or I could choose to be positive about it. She said, “Eww wee, I’m glad you decided to be positive because I can’t imagine you not smiling at me when I come in.” We as educators have to give our very best all day long. Our students deserve it. I’m so glad that the students have personal conversations with me. They make me smile.

At the end of the day we talked a bit more about the quote.   I had a few students talking more about about what song they would sing if they were wishing to sing.   I thought that was pretty sweet. I found out a bit about some of my kids by listening. One of them loves Johnny Cash and “Ring of Fire” another said they would sing “Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers and another song I heard was “Kick the Dust Up” by Luke Bryan. I can’t wait to have these songs on my morning playlist during morning work tomorrow. Just so my readers don’t feel left out, click the links below to hear these songs.   We owe it to our youth to be relatable and enjoy the things they enjoy!

Until next week,

Mr. B

1 Comment

Welcome Readers!

Pink Out Day--October 29

Dear Breast Cancer Survivor,

In Honor of our Survivors

In Memory Of Our Brave Fighters

Keep the Quote--October 22

Bumper Stickers Were So Last Year...

Keep the Quote--October 15th

Keep the Quote--October 8th

Keep the Quote--October 1st

Author

Archives