Burpees don't like you either.

It dawned me. When I was younger I would do three math problems, and then do three cartwheels. That is how I did my homework every afternoon. I would recite spelling words while standing on my head. I had so much pent up energy by the time I got out of school, my mom would literally make me run laps. I'm still very active. I'm currently obsessed with Obstacle Course Racing. I fell in love with running, swinging, and crawling through mud for a t-shirt and medal.

But enough about me.

It dawned on me.  My students cannot sit still, and I had a brilliant idea: a burpee station. Why not? Every time I fail an obstacle at a Spartan Race I do 30 burpees. Why not bring that into the classroom?  Not as a consequence, but rather in a "get up and move if you need to" way. So I set out on a mission. First, clear it with the principal. I mean she will be walking by while my students are jumping around like frogs. This needs to look like I meant to do it. As long as it was safe, I was in the clear. So I grabbed a mat from the gym and a couple cones, so no one trips,and I was ready to make some rules.

1. One person on the mat at a time.

2. The mat is only for the exercise of the week.

3. Be responsible.

I showed them how to do a burpee. The plan was for them to be able to time how many they can do in a minute. Occasionally, switching up the exercise. This thought was to limit the amount of time they spent on the mat, and give it some type of purpose. The first day I introduced the station there was a line to do burpees. Clearly we had to give this novel concept a try.  I could hear the thought running through their heads, "She is going to let us jump around when ever we feel like it." Well it's not whenever they feel like it, but pretty close. I told them we couldn't wait in line, and they would have to manage turns another way.

By day three no line, and the students who I could have predicted needed to move the most use it in moderation. I like the idea of exercise in the classroom so much I incorporated exercise into a spelling center. Each letter is a movement, and they need to spell their words out by completing the corresponding workout.

Today, some of us did 30 lunges after reading groups. I guess, like everything we implement in the classroom, only time will tell. I'm curious to see if the focus and attention improves in some of my students.

Stay tuned.

Let's get a gecko!

All summer long, I talked about getting a class gecko. I had him ready and waiting to arrive at school. It was finally time for him to say good bye to his brothers and sisters, and as dramatic as I am, I pretended he did. I gently brought him over to each tank to flap his little arm with a wave good bye.

As soon as I put him in his carrier tank, the pit in my stomach planted itself. He was going crazy. All I could hear was this little gecko bouncing off the walls. Maybe traveling with him isn't going to be the piece of cake I thought it would be?

Music off and the only sound in my car is a tiny reptile body smacking against plastic. Then silence. Was he dead? My heart stopped. At the light, I peaked under the t-shirt I had covering his carrier. The shock of seeing his tail detached from his body pulsed through me like lightening. 

A little gecko background: It is quite common for crested geckos to "drop" their tales under stress. This is a survival adaption, where in the wild they can run while their tale, still wiggling, will distract the predator. So now I have a gecko and a tail, and a class of twenty students very excited to meet their new class pet. What was I going to do?

The only thing a teacher could do, "teachable moment"!  Why do geckos drop their tails? Let's do some research. We spent Morning Meeting talking about crested geckos. I didn't know anything about them, but now I'm a crested gecko expert. After some research, we needed a name. The suggestions spanned from Bob to Tumbles to Wobbles. Then a student raised his hand to suggest Timber. I was in LOVE. The name had to be Timber. How am I going to make this vote sway my way? Good thing teaching second grade isn't the democracy I pretend is it, because his name was definitely not going to be Bob.

TIMBER is a constant source of writing inspiration for us. When teaching writer's workshop inspiration is everything! Even my "I don't know what to write" students have something to say about Timber. In fact, I have a million blog ideas because of Timber, but I'm going to save them for another day.

Click to read about what my students have to say about Timber!
Timber Posts

#TimbertheGecko



   

     

   

Why Monica is always "write".

Do you like what I did there, using "write" for right? I thought it was clever. This all started at Teacher's Convention when my friend Monica said we should start blogging. My initial response was, "I don't have time". I also had that nagging voice in my head saying that nobody cares about anything I have to write about. I'm not a good writer.

So the convention went on without me giving it another thought. Until went to a session about blogging. I have to admit, I didn't think I would get too much out of the session. I already use a platform for my students to blog. I felt as though maybe I would learn one or two tricks to help with teaching students to blog. It turns out the session was about why I should blog. While sitting in the workshop it felt like they were talking directly to me.

Why should I blog?

-for the parents of the students in my class. I have a website, Twitter, and Instagram. Do I need another way to connect through social media? Apparently, I do. This blog will be more than a quick picture of my classroom. It will be my thoughts and feelings about teaching. Through this blog parents can gain insight to the "whys" of my madness.

-for other educators. Maybe I'm doing something that is interesting to other educators. Maybe? Sharing ideas is how we all survive as teachers. I don't think this is limited to ideas. Maybe just knowing that another teacher is going through the same struggles or successes is comforting. Reflecting on my own teaching through a blog, could possibly help another teacher refocus their own teaching.

- for me. Reflecting and adjusting is the teacher's life. How did that go? What could I have done better? Did they grasp what I set out for them to learn? Is this learning authentic? What was the purpose? These are just some of the questions we ask ourselves. The answers to those questions bring us closer to the teacher we want to be. I heard in a workshop once that teachers make 500 or more decisions a day. Some days I feel like the judge or jury. Blogging could be a healthy way to process the day.

Monica was right. With a lot of nerves and a touch of excitement, I'm going to blog.