There is no tired like a teacher in September

It's almost October, and I've survived September with a broken leg. The very first word out of the doctor's mouth was surgery. I wasn't expecting that at all. So, I began this school year in a boot on a scooter. Being I had big plans for September, I was beyond  bummed to hear that I was on the injured list until at least March.

The first day of school was one of the best I've ever had. Thankfully, my class was caring and concerned. It helped that I had a pretty rad scooter. We started the year being more responsible than usual because I was going to need their help. I should start every year with a broken limb. Our floor is spotless, because I have to roll around and if there's debris on the floor I'll tip right over.

I had decided I was "simplifying" my classroom before I broken my leg, but I'm glad I did. I'm trying to reduce the amount of clutter in my room. Last year, I gave away or threw out anything I haven't used in years. I increased the size of my library with an emphasis on space for students to read. I'm experimenting with flexible seating. I'm even going deskless this year. The rainbow table has become my space. I've tried to create a student centered environment.

I'm hoping to expand on these "new" things in future blogs. :) So, stay tuned!
 

How could it be August 2nd already?

I promised myself I wouldn't even think about school until August. I almost kept that promise. BUT- how can any teacher not think about school in summer? I love summer for obvious reasons, but it also allows us to imagine what the following year could be like.

For starters, I want to blog more next year. I just started blogging last year. I'd love to commit to once a week. If I could just write something short and sweet about the week on a Friday afternoon. Tune in to see if I keep that promise.

I'm going deskless this coming year. I'm not sure if I'll regret it or not. Honestly, my desk was just a place to keep carefully crafted piles to which only I knew the contents. I'm sure I can find a new place to harbor my organized chaos.

I'm going to "try" flexible seating. Which I haven't worked out all the kinks, but I'm pretty sure it won't be much different from what I was already doing. My students are usually able to work anywhere in the room as it is. I'm thinking this year, they will not have a desk that it their own. They will have a place to store their things, but desks will not be claimed. You are going to have to tune in to see how this works out.

So there you have it-  I made it to August 2nd, and here I am blogging about my hopes for a fresh new year.
               

a snow day short

" Your job is what you do, not who are"

Not true for many educators. Teachers seem to be different. Most often times we are the job. We take it home, live it- every minute of every day. When we first start teaching it consumes us. We spend hours in our classrooms planning, prepping, and creating. Then we continue to plan, prep, and create at home. Obsessing even, if you will, about our class, a conversation we had with a parent, or the next day's lesson. I know I obsessed over classroom setup, meeting standards, and anticipatory sets. I thought about teaching all the time. The drive to work or the middle of the night is when I came up with my best ideas.  

As true and fulfilling as that all sounds, we need to take time to do things that feed our passions. Doing the things that make us more than a teacher, makes us better teachers. Being a whole person helps us draw inspiration that we can funnel into our teaching. I'm more than a teacher, but it took several years to be comfortable with that.

I am a writer. 

I can model best practices while writing with my students.

I'm a traveler. 

I can use my experiences to make assignments real world applicable. 

I am an obstacle course race enthusiast.  
I bring movement and exercise into the classroom. 

I am an animal lover.

I hope my stories inspire kindness and empathy. 

I am a builder of lego-like models. 

 I bring that element of maker-space into projects. 

I am a teacher. 

6 books you have to read in September! #bookaday

When I completed my student teaching my cooperating teacher had a love of picture books. She believed in reading to children. Through her I was exposed to some great literature, and that fostered a love inside me for pictures books. I'm always on the hunt for an engaging story with a lesson, rich vocabulary, and enchanting illustrations. Last year I committed to reading aloud everyday. I've continued to do so into this year. I read a picture book to my class every morning. So for your reading pleasure here are six books you need to read in September.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

The story holds a special place in my heart. It's one of the first picture books I ever read to a classroom of students. Sylvester loves collecting pebbles. One day while out he finds an extraordinary one. It seems to grant wishes. Through a mishap, his wish turns him into a rock longing to be reunited with his family. This charming story teaches that sometimes everything you could ever wish for is right in front of you all along. It's full of rich vocabulary and literary features. This story would make a great reading workshop read aloud or shared reading that takes revisiting it multiple times to really do it justice.    

Jonathan James and the What if Monster by Michelle Nelson- Schmidt

This rhythmic tale is a must read in any classroom. Jonathon James is a classic worrier filled with "what ifs". What if I fall? What if I'm not good enough? Students of every age can relate to that little voice in their head that tells them they can't. This story tells you to ignore that voice. What if you are great! 

Love is a Family by Roma Downey

In that first few weeks of getting to know you, almost every grade level will talk about families. I love this picture because it illustrates all the different types of families. It emphasizes that no matter what a family looks like they all have love in common. 

The Relatives Came by Cythia Rylant

Sticking with the family theme- this is just a great story. The Relatives Came is exactly what the title implies. It is all about a visit from family. It's the excitement of the arrival. the feasts, the fun, the crazy sleeping arrangements, and finally the sadness of "until we meet again". It's full of charming illustrations with details that allow students to gain a better understanding of the characters and situations. The Relatives Came makes a great mentor text for narrative writing.  

One by Kathryn Otoshi

Kathryn Otoshi takes a unique approach to teach a kindness lesson. Each color has a unique personality, but Red is not very nice to the other colors. They let Red boss them around until One stands up for himself and the other colors. This is a fun and playful read aloud that invites a conversation about standing up for yourself and integrity.  

The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read by Curtis Manley and Kate Berube

Nick has two cats, and one summer day he decides to teach them to read. Vern catches on and enjoys reading. While Stevenson, like a typical cat, isn't very interested. With some encouragement Stevenson finds a book he loves and learns to read. Students will be able to relate to eager reader Vern or reluctant emergent reader Stevenson. This read aloud creates a great opportunity for students to reflect their reading interests and opens a discussion for just right books.  

That's my top six for September. I'm looking forward to more "Top Six Book Lists"!   

My thoughts about Global School Play Day.

Better late than never, but here are a few of my thoughts about Global School Play Day.

For those of you reading who don't know, Global School Play Day was an afternoon of unstructured play. Students were able to bring toys from home as long as they were not electronic. Things like Legos, board games, and dolls were encouraged. They were going to be able to play for the afternoon without intervention from the teacher. I supervised, but I did not intervene unless they doing something that was unsafe.

- In my core, I love this idea. I'm a firm believer that kids needs to play. In early education much of their learning comes from play.  BUT- I'll admit I was nervous. No intervening unless students are in danger? I pictured chaos. The thought of allowing an extended amount of unstructured play was frightening.

- It turns out it wasn't as frightening as I thought it would be. It wasn't even as loud as I thought it would be.

- I heard things like "let's check the rules". Students were coming up with ways to solve disagreements.

- About half way through the afternoon,  some students were "bored". They had to come up with different ways to keep themselves occupied. I enjoyed that they had enough time to switch activities. All day I'm in charge of signaling their transitions. It was interesting to observe students taking responsible for their own transition into different activities.

- Students created games.

- Students used their imaginations.

- I was asked 7 times by the same student if they could use the Chromebook.

- While one thing did break, most of the students were careful while playing.

As a follow up, I had my students write letters to the principal about whether or not we should participate in Global Play Day in the future. Obviously, the majority of my students were pro play day, but for thoughtful reasons. They had reasons such as, "we played nice together" and "we solved our own problems". They were reflective about the fact that without my intervention they were left to solve their own disagreements.

Where does this leave me?

I've always worked some play/ snack time in the day. This play time is good for them in so many ways. Mostly it gives them a chance to interact socially with one another. It also gives them a chances to practice making appropriate choices with peers. Global School Play Day reassured me that giving students time to "play" is OK.

And we need that every once in a while, right? What you are doing is ok. :)  



 

The Travel Agent Project

In my district, they have taken a coaching approach to evaluations. Each teacher has a "coach". The coach is an administrator who we work with throughout the year. We do initial meetings about goals for the year, and all of our post, during, and pre- observations are done with the same administrator. I'm explaining our evaluation model because it helps explain how The Travel Agent Project was born.

I was meeting with my coach ,who is our superintendent, when he asked about the Social Studies topics for the year. That launched a conversation about why are we teaching students information that could be "googled". One of the areas we teach in second grade is the 50 States. My coach challenged me to make this particular area of instruction more "real world" and problem based. I like a challenge, and I also like to obsess about things. I needed time to really digest the conversation we had. I left the meeting with more questions than answers.

Over the next few weeks, I thought about the conversation we had and how I could make this more real world. Then while driving to work it hit me: A road trip. I would have my students plan a road trip from New Jersey to California. They could take any route they wanted but, they had to pick one landmark for me to visit in each state along the way. In my head it seemed pretty simple. They would act as my Travel Agent to design a road trip for me to take. I even went as far as saying I'd pick my favorite trip and go on it. I created guidelines and a graphic organizer to keep them on task. They were off.

Resources: Feel free to use these or create your own.
Planning Sheet
Cover sheet- Directions

How did it go?

1) It took us a little while to get the hang of it. Next year, I will be more strict about the reasons why they chose each landmark. This year I accepted a Panera Bread because I would need to eat.

2) Google was our friend. I had to be brave, because google was the best way to find places to visit in each state. I also required them to give an address, anr google provided the address easily. The internet isn't as scary of a place as when I first started using it in the classroom. With today's firewalls, rarely do you get pop ups, unless they are searching for something they shouldn't be searching for. Which leads into #3.

3) This could be a blog in and of it self, but I had to set some chromebook research ground rules. NO YOU TUBE, NO IMAGE SEARCHES. We discussed some credible sources. For example, .org .gov. .edu, but for this project just Google seemed to give us all the information we needed.

4)The majority of my students were really excited and into this project. It was fun to see the enthusiasm. Some partners were even discussing how long the trip would take. Another group went beyond and started making a plan for my trip home. Along the way learning about each state.

5) Once the trips were planned, I taught them how to get Google Directions. Each group turned the trip into a google map.

6) This is one of the best projects I've ever done, and who knows maybe I'll have a chance to go on one of these trips.