i got up just as the moon was setting.
goodbye moon. see you tonight.
i need paper like a hole in my head.
but i couldn’t resist these. so i didn’t!
i think katie is so talented. i knew her paper packs would be lovely.
i wasn’t wrong.
this is the first day of my 4 day mini-vacation.
vacation vacation vay kay shun
i like the way that sounds.
it sounds like rainbows and butterscotch sundaes and picnics and cows with bells around their necks.
tinkling bells and orchestral movie scores.
because i said so. that’s why.
in the classroom one of the red hot chili peppers furiously draws all day long.
he takes breaks to make loud honking exploding whistling noises, jog around the room, crawl under the desks, cry, and blow spit bubbles.
all of my usual tricks to prod him into doing class work have so far been met with snorts.
he did ask me to please make him a book out of construction paper. i did.
so far he wrote “sharks and fish” on the cover.
maybe next week he can be persuaded into letting me help him write a story.
if you’re thinking, “well just MAKE him do his work!!!”
the short answer is:
i’m trying!
he has some gnashing teeth and claws and piercing stares to get out of his system first.
he informed me this week that:
butterflies drink flower juice and it’s their job to deliver honey to bees
where do they get the honey?
they make it inside the flowers!
Have had kids like this in class before….what grade do you teach…..what is his reading level …..you are doing the right thing to let him draw….You will get him to do class work! A lot of times these students provide the greatest insights and rewards and, honestly, sometimes, disappointments……..
I think the red hot chili pepper has been watching too much Teletubbies. The drawings remind of that show. TV gone alien. Of course you can’t MAKE him do his work, in his mind, he is doing his work. Sounds like he is suffering, might be ADD or ADHD, or as they used to call it in the old days just plain “ants in the pants.” Some boys are much more kinetic and sitting quietly for more than 5 minutes is absolute torture. Wonder what he eats for breakfast — sugar pops? Bless you Mary Ann. Here’s cheering you on from the sidelines:)
Ok, so I am late to the party today, er well that was really yesterday, spent it at dd’s big ‘C’ orientation and our state fair, all in all a good day was had but I missed visiting your blog during a somewhat longish day of boring college prep lectures; you know the kind filled with good intentions, but long on proper procedures and parent do’s and don’ts (dd got the better end of the stick where they were encouraged to make huge sculptures out of big sheets of plastic and tape that were later blown up with giant fans, anyway so today found your blog filled with both joy, temptation (Katie’s blog is a favorite) so are her paper packs; so much yummy paper goodness, seeing all those scary and angry drawings tugged at my heart strings…I’ve looked back on my dd’s grade school drawings back in june and theirs were never filled with so much ‘anger’ for lack of a better observation. I’m thinking that you might be his bright light and he lacks the ability to control his inner workings to express himself in a positive manner which makes it tough on you and for being in the midst of all his emotional ‘fall out’ YOU are one tough cookie Mary Ann, you are loved for what you do day in and day out by those of us who’d give you big ‘hugs’ if we could, for being the most amazing human being for sharing all of this with us the way you do. I’ll always be in your corner cheering for you all the way from my corner of the world. I hope you can hear me cuz my neighbors can from the windows that are open and they are giving me funny looks. I can tell. I see them peeking through their curtains. 😉
That is one angry mixed up little guy who certainly has issues. You will help him but it will cost you a lot emotionally, I wish you luck. Its hard trying to teach like that, your always waiting “for the shoe to drop” or in your case run, hide or duck under the desk. I am thinking you should run and hide and go to the principal’s office to seek refuge. Are you allowed to drink on the job, no didn’t think so but its a good idea. Wow, hope your art doesn’t get angry (you definately need a respite). Will try to send kind soothing thoughts your way during the school day.
I quite like your chili pepper’s art. Not everyone draws rainbows and smiley faces.
Even though the days look like you can’t make it through…….I really believe you are so needed in that classroom to help that needy child. Thanks for what you do for them and for us.
Mary Ann … you and other teachers like you are saints! Enjoy your long weekend, you deserve it. I look forward to seeing how you play with your new goodies.
He’s fresh from God and having a hard time to adjusting to the stringent ways of the world. Aren’t you glad I home educated mine?
The kid has skills!
he’s lucky to have you as a teacher, but i can only imagine the work that it puts on you! just look at those frustrated faces! …he might be able to design scrapbook paper for halloween…
hang in there superwoman! happy long weekend! xoxox
So many angry faces….. I shudder to think what has happened to him (and is still happening to him) when he’s not at school……
That kid needs WAY more one-on-one attention than a teacher with a classroom full of other kids can possibly give him!
I hope, for his sake, and for the sake of the other kids, that the district will step up and find him a placement where he can get some of the help he needs, and relieve the stress on the rest of the class that his behavior inevitably causes.
You sure have your hands full. Poor little screwed up guy. Such unhappiness on that page. Then again, maybe he’s a future Maurice Sendak.
oh hey! thanks for the little shout out. glad you enjoyed your papers!
i really love children’s drawings. my mom is a fifth grade teacher and one of her students drew a picture of her class that was so emotive and detailed that I wanted to frame it and look at it every day. it is too bad that your little boy has so many angry little creatures in his work. I would venture a guess that he watches too much violence on TV, yes?
Such a gorgeous post, mary ann. Your wonderful teaching skills are doing wonders already. This child is full of imagination. Just love the angry drawings, at least he is drawing!
Enjoy your mini-vacation. Irene
So sad to see all the angry faces in his drawings, anguished, it must be tough for you because I know you have a kind heart, too. Enjoy your weekend!!
God bless teachers. I’ve said many times that I would not be patient enough to be a teacher. Oh, I’d be great with the ‘perfectly behaved’ kids (I know, I know, there aren’t any…); but I’d be too easily irritated and frustrated when they went all red-hot-chili-pepper on me. You will be an inspiration to them for a lifetime. This young fellow looks to have some issues (possibly just an excess of creative spirit, but who knows), but you may very well be the one who gets him going in the right direction. (Sorry. Wrote a novella here, but was overcome with strong feelings all of a sudden.)
you have the patience of a Saint, MAM!! I love his first picture (a self-portrait?)… and the monsters all look sad, to me. Enjoy your time off, with your new / old paper!!
tame him with the trick of staring into his big yellow eyes…
I like his bugs at the bottom of the page. Everything is so prickly in his world. Except for you Ms. Moss –keep on sharing the LOVE!!!
I’d say that something is going on at home, something not good. All those unhappy faces, sad faces. Something is amisss here. This child communicates visually, so why not ask him to draw his story. Words are complicated and very difficult for troubled children. They only know feelings but not how to articulate them. I feel for this kid…I’ll bet there’s some trouble on the home front that he doesn’t know how to deal with. Coming from an abusive background I know how this kid feels.
My brother taught special ed for one year. He said “you take all year to teach them their address and then they move and you have to start all over!” He lasted exactly one year.
This guy is an artist. Please tell him I said so. Remember his name! Keep everything he draws. I am thinking he may begin Sketch Noting any minute.
Hey Mary Ann does he have to write it down? Maybe you could get him to tell you a story. Or record in Evernote on computer or iPad or maybe get him to create a comic strip and tell his story that way. Xxx I love that you call them red hot chilli peppers and I like the idea of a cocktail at the end of every day with a bit of creating thrown in.
If I was in your class, I would ask you to make me a book out of construction paper but NO WAY would I be able to put frowny faces on all my monsters. Too much concentration involved. Too much detail. I’d forget one and put just a regular face and then the focus would be off. Impressive. Plus of course there’s the variety of monsters and creatures. Got to love that. I would LOVE to see the sharks and fish. Lots of potential points. Good luck to you both.
Your moon is beautiful, and so are the leaves and Hostess cupcake white curlicues.
And oh that dear kid has so-o many scary things with teeth and claws in his life.
Then I looked again and the rabbit has big soft rabbit feet and the duck has duck feet and the pig has piggy cloven(?) hoofs, and the scorpions and insects seem to know what they are doing too. And I think a frog is eating a fish…
What a wealth of detailed images. ps. When you run out of paper let me know . I have more.
Look at the angry monsters in those drawings. Poor screwed up kid. He might be able to write a great story if you can get him focused enough.
omg! i can not believe a child is like in a regular classroom! you sure do have it tough! but wow oh wow on what he said about the butterflies! so beautiful! he is already making wonderful stories in his mind! hang in there and enjoy your l-o-n-g weekend to the fullest, i know you will!