Five for Friday

I'm linking up with the Five for Friday linky party from Doodle Bug Teaching for the first time.

This was a pretty slow week, but I thought I'd give it a try.

1. On Tuesday evening, the school orchestra had their second concert. This orchestra is sponsored by the Charlotte Symphony and provides students in grades 2-5 to learn to play an instrument. They can select from violin, cello, clarinet, flute, or trumpet. They also participate in chorus and bucket band. Students meet for practice three days a week. The amount of volunteers from the Charlotte Symphony is amazing. They really invest a lot of time into the program and our students are extremely fortunate to have this opportunity. (I recorded the grand finale, but I'm having trouble uploading it. I'll attach it as soon as I figure it out.)

2. Buckeyes - When I was a little girl, my grandmother would make buckeyes for Christmas. Buckeyes is the state symbol of Ohio, which is where I'm from. They are poisonous, however, the edible ones are delicious. You basically just mix peanut butter with powdered sugar and butter, roll them into small balls, place them into the freezer to harden, and finally dip the balls into melted chocolate. Amazing!!!! Well, these are my go to snack to make when I have to take something to share with my co workers. Wednesday was fifth grade's turn to bring snacks for the staff meeting, so I made a batch of buckeyes to share. They were a hit as always.

3. Is it spring break yet? My students definitely have spring fever. This is always the time of the year when fifth graders feel like they are too big to be in elementary and think they are already ready for middle school. That is definitely where my scholars are right now. We have implemented a behavior incentive program to help manage behavior. We had our first activity last Friday. We had a tug of war challenge between the different classes. Even though my class only won 1 out of their four matches they had a blast. The best part was the final competition. Four of the five fifth grade teachers vs one student in each class. Of course we won. We had to or they wouldn't have let us forget about it.

4. Cut and Grow - In writing this week we have been working on revising. Students are revising their Influential African American essays. This has consumed our week because the essays are due next Friday and we are running behind. I wrote a blog about revising here.

5. And finally, this week ends on a sad note. I realized that the man I was dating was not who I thought he was. While I still love him, I know its time to move on. I'm still struggling with the decision, but I know it is the right one for me right now. Now I just need to stay strong and keep busy this weekend so that I'm not spending all my time thinking about him. Wish me luck!!