One down...

I survived the first round of testing.  It is difficult for someone who is not a teacher to understand how mentally taxing it is to do absolutely nothing while students try (or don't try) to remember everything I have taught them.  I have some really great (sarcasm) stories about what some students chose to do during the test.  I am not really allowed to share...maybe in a few years.

Today my husband and I went for our first run in 6 weeks.  The anticipation was more brutal than the actual run.  I have been really working on lengthening my stride.  My husband noticed improvement today, but he said I was still doing my kick out to the side with my legs.  I don't notice while I am doing it, so it is super hard to fix.  Do you run weird?  We should be friends.  You should also join me in running my first mud run in Dallas on June 1st.  I have always struggled with running consistently.  I quit things in my personal life constantly which is super annoying.  Usually I sign up for a race, train, and then quit running afterwards.  To not fall in this trap, I have signed up for a race every month until this race.  After I run a race, I will sign up for another one.  That way I can't quit, right?!?!?

Even though the writing test is over this year, I still cringe inside when I hear grammar rules being broken.  For me, it is more annoying to hear bad grammar over reading it.  But I am sure there is someone out there who just cringed over the way I put together that last sentence.  

We talked about homophones last week.  Today I want to talk about double negatives.  Don't run off just yet!!  This is a super easy fix!

When you have two negative words (No, not, never, none, nothing, no-one, nobody, nowhere, neither, don’t, can’t, cannot, won’t,  wouldn’t, shouldn’t, couldn’t, isn’t, wasn’t) in a sentence, they cancel each other out and make a positive.  

These are just a sample of things that are not appropriate to say:

I didn't do nothing.

I don't have to listen to nobody.

There wasn't nowhere to go.

We can't just do nothing.  

Seriously, check yourself!  If this is still confusing or if you love grammar as much as I do, check out the Superheroes of Grammar.  My friend already bought me their book.  Nerd alert!  

This stuff makes my heart happy

It is the eve before school starts.  Yay!   Boo!  As I was telling my friend today, it is the beginning of the end (of the school year).  State testing starts in two weeks with 4th grade Writing.  The students are responsible for writing compositions and for revising and editing papers.  Usually the mistakes in the test follow common grammar concepts and spelling rules. 

I have noticed that a lot of adults, even teachers at my school, could benefit from a refresher course on these 4th grade concepts.  Unless I am really close to you, I will not point out your grammar mistakes; however, please know that I am desperately trying to teach children the correct way as other adults consistently show them the wrong way through their speech and written words.  (Disclaimer: I am not perfect, and I will make mistakes, but I just hope it is not concerning the rules that the state of Texas requires 4th grade students to know.)

I found this on pinterest and thought it appropriate.

Grammar matters.

As I tell my students, there is a big difference between

"Let's eat Grandma!"

and

"Let's eat, Grandma!"

Join me next week for a refresher of the usage of your and you're!