Do Monkeys Sit Backwards?

We have reached the halfway point now, the "18" and I, and we begin our second semester together come early tomorrow morning.  Ok, for real, it only seems like such a short time ago that they walked into the classroom on that first day of school back in mid-August. Now here we are over 90 days into their fourth grade year and a sober realization is looking us square in the eyes.  We have precious little time left together until they must be ready to leave the confines of this classroom and enter the world of "fifth graders", ready or not.  I hope I can get them there.  Time will tell.

Teachers from the Montrose-Olathe Public School system spent this day within our schools as we readied our plans for the kids' first day back tomorrow.   The day was busy as we all knew upfront that it would be.  It seemed like we had been gone a month instead of a couple of weeks and walking back in to see our rooms as we had left them that day before vacation back in December was kind of strange.  Didn't take long for the building to heat back up again and after a morning filled with meetings, everyone "rolled up their shirtsleeves" and got to work.  It seemed that "time was a wastin" and in spite of how hard everyone worked to get things prepared for tomorrow, the time ran out before our work was completely done. 

I have much on my mind as I prepare for class this week.  Earlier this afternoon as I found myself knee-deep in papers, books, bulletin board materials and a thousand other school related things, I had to stop a moment and wonder how my old fourth grade teacher, Bette Harris, ever did it.  I mean for crying out loud, she had a roomful of 18 fourth-grade kids there back in that little school in Haven, Kansas and Mrs. Harris took care of all of us single-handedly.  Except for an occasional visit from our remedial reading teacher, Ethelyn Van Buren, it was Mrs. Harris who would be in charge of our educational progress.  She did it without a computer or smart board, with no teacher aide or extra planning periods.  Her students were taught reading, arithmetic, science, social studies, spelling, language arts, handwriting and anything else that needed to be learned.  And this is the weird thing, the thing that I wish I could understand how she did it....Mrs. Harris taught all of that EVERY single day.  Even more strange is that I remember we actually had time to squeeze in a 20-minute recess in the afternoons.  I wish I knew what her secret had been, just how she figured out how to be such a manager of our time that we could cover so very much in a school day that really is no different in length than the one I now teach in. 

In today's classroom, teachers struggle each and every day to get in everything that must be taught.  There is not a moment wasted by anyone I work with at Olathe Elementary and I am sure that the same could be said of any teacher out there.  There seems to be more and more each year that we are required to have our students learn and at times, it seems to be overwhelmingly frustrating as we come up short at the day's end.  Yet each day we return, still full of hope that we can make a difference for the children in our care.  We remember always that some days you get finished, some days you do not.  Most teachers I know of subscribe to the same philosophy about this all and the idea is this~If we do not succeed, we will at the very least, die trying. 

During Christmas break, Mike and I travelled to Altus, Oklahoma after we left Reno County, Kansas.  While in Altus, I got to visit with my sister, Sherry St. Clair.  Sherry has been a teacher for over 4 decades and many of those years were spent with fourth grade students at Roosevelt Elementary in Altus.  My sister has always been my teaching mentor and I've asked her numerous questions about things over the years.  She's given me some excellent ideas to try and many of them worked out great for students in my classroom.  While I was there, I told Sherry that I'd been having trouble getting long division across to some of my students and I asked her if she had any "tricks of the trade" to share with me. 

Without hesitation, she replied "Have you ever taught them Do Monkeys Sit Backwards?"

Since that phrase didn't ring any kind of bell with me, I had to admit that I had not.  Sherry proceeded to explain what it meant. "D is for divide, M is for multiply, S is for subtract, and B is for bring down" she told me.  The more she explained it, the more I realized that it was just what my students need to help them understand the steps that one must take to do a long division problem.  I am anxious to give it a try tomorrow morning during our math time.

  The cool thing about that little mental reminder is that you can use it without plugging in a piece of technology.  All a kid has to do is store it in the greatest computer ever made, their brain.  It reminded me of something dear Mrs. Harris might have said to us and shoot, perhaps she had and I'd forgotten it all along.  I'm beholden to my sister for all of the times that she took me under her wing and showed me the way of how to do things.  This was not the first time nor will it be the last.

Night has fallen and the day has come to a close.  I'm heading to bed early tonight in order to be rested and refreshed for the first day back tomorrow.  I hope that all of you are beginning to make your way to your nice warm beds as well wherever on this earth you may be.  To my friends and family suffering through this winter's bitter cold, I am thinking of you.  Take care, stay well and warm and do not give up hope.  Winter cannot last forever, it only thinks that it can.  Good night and much love to you all :)

My sister and I the first time around for retirement.  I laugh every time I see this photo.

OK, Sherry St. Clair, I am going to give your method a try tomorrow.  Figure it just might do the trick and help my students finally figure out this long division kind of stuff.

The kids from Bette Harris' fourth grade classroom during the 1964-65 school year at Haven Grade School.  I am the little girl in the blue dress standing next to my dear and sweet teacher.  What a kind and loving woman she was to all of us kids.