 |
| We take our silliness very seriously |
Greetings!
HOW IS IT THE END OF SEPTEMBER?! These first 8 weeks of school have been amazing and very visceral for me. In so many ways, I know I'm a better teacher than last year. And in so many ways I can see my growth points really showing through. I think often the really cool things you do as a teacher serve to highlight the not-so-good things (for lack of a better word!), and sometimes that's a heavy burden to bear.
 |
| Just being worm scientists, NBD. |
I'd like to start this blog off with the low points of this month. I'll be honest--this has been a really tough month for me, professionally. I'm struggling with new ideas educationally and balancing a totally new class with a very different vibe than my past year.
- Data/Assessment collection is the bane of my existence. I've faced the fact that I'm just totally unmotivated to collect data daily from my 23 students. I feel like I don't have the time, or the will to do it.
- Time management is a real struggle. There are times when I see my students working on something and I think--let's just keep doing this and we'll skip whatever was supposed to come next in our schedule. The more we do this, the more we miss out on things that we really should be working on. Or as Dr. Lynch would say, "things students should have the opportunity to do"
There's always time to complain, I guess. So, LET'S CELEBRATE!
These kids are AMAZING. They are so zen. So relaxing. They looooooooove breathing techniques from Dr. Becky Bailey and Conscious Discipline. The pretzel is our favorite! We do some interesting yoga everyday as a warm up to our morning meeting. My biggest celebrations as a teacher and as a community are:
- Compassion Kit: Our compassion kit is something we came up with in the first few weeks of school. It's a good companion to the solution kit. We did a large group on "what can we do to help a hurting friend" and this piece of brilliance is what THEY came up with.
 |
 |
Of course, I can't make them do anything, but when they see a hurt friend (or if they hurt a friend), I always ask them if they thought they made a mistake, and if they say yes, I ask them how they can learn from this mistake. And then I ask them if they can ask their hurting friend how they can help them feel better? These language frames have EXPLODED in the classroom. I've seen a lot of kids in the beginning of the year go from saying sorry 30 times to a kid while the other kid tells on them to them asking what they can do to help them feel better before even running to me. More than anything, I like to watch these kinds of interactions unfold. It just does the heart good to see little people learning compassion.
- Classroom Mantra: Over the summer, I wrote a poem that I wanted to be what our classroom culture was going to be about. But more than that, it became this poem that has deeply affected me as a teacher, a friend, a daughter, and even as a stranger. We say this poem everyday. Its the first thing we do each and everyday. We also use it in different social interactions and as reminders throughout the day.
I am in charge, and I can become the person I want to be, My power comes from inside, I am responsible for my feelings and my actions My choices affect other people, I must teach others how to treat me Conflict is a part of life; I can and will learn from my mistakes Love IS power This poem has affected our classroom--although I can't show you the evidence on a piece of paper. I've had parents tell me their kids have calmed them down by saying parts of this poem to them. I've had parents say they're rethinking how they discipline their children based on hearing their kids repeat this poem. I'm blown away. Sometimes you feel like a terrible teacher, because you didn't do small groups or a phonological awareness lesson didn't go according to plan, but then--you have kids that amaze you just because they can and it really puts things in perspective.  |
Oh Lindsey, I feel you!!! First of all, your lows are my lows. I know exactly what you mean about not having the will or interest in formal data collection. Also that feeling of "well they are on a roll, should I stop them?" when they are working hard on something. I also struggle with that time management piece and making sure I am "giving the opportunity" for them to learn all kinds of things, even those I don't personally value that much. I am so excited to hear about how your kids are growing socially and emotionally just in these first few weeks! I know this is always a near and dear aspect of teaching to your heart, and the effectiveness really shows. Your poem is so sweet and I think you should be proud at how it is spreading from the classroom and even impacting their interactions at home. Why else do we teach other than to have these kinds of far-reaching and long lasting positive impacts? As always you amaze and inspire me. Keep it up! You are doing so great!!!
ReplyDeleteLindsey
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your blog and giving us a peek into your classroom. I 100% agree with you that this month has flown by. I appreciated your honesty and openness about some of the highs and lows you have had this month. Sometimes I feel as if everyone has their stuff together and I am the only one struggling and reading this blog helps me realize others are going through some of the same things as me.
Time management and data were two major struggles for me this last month as well. Last year I feel like we had ample time in each subject area but this year I feel like we are rushed to do everything. Literally from 8:00 to 3:30 I am constantly on the run. I am completely in the same boat with you. When I see my students working on a project it is so hard for me to stop them mid- work session to move on. But I think Dr. Lynch gave you some excellent advice we need to give our kids the opportunity to do things and if we go over in one subject are we are not giving our students the opportunity to grow in another.
I absolutely LOVE your compassion kit idea. This would be a great thing to integrate at my school. We recently implemented the Wesley Way at our school and the first line of the Wesley Way is, we act with Compassion. One of the most difficult things to do was teach children what compassion meant. I think the compassion kit would have been a great way to teach compassion. Thank you for sharing!
How are the students enjoying the classroom mantra? Have they memorized it? What are the ways you explained each aspect of the mantra to your students? I think it is beautiful that you are able to take the vision you created this summer and apply it into your classroom. Congrats on tackling your first month of school. Keep up the good work!
Kyla
Lindsey! Great post this month. Thank you for always being so honest in your blog- I think it allows all of us to take a deep breath and know that it's okay if the days are tough.
ReplyDeleteI, too, struggle with time management. I feel like each day is filled to the brim with all that we need to get done and I often want to go beyond the basic curriculum and add additional projects that I feel like would grow my students in different ways. I feel like taking the time to provide students with the opportunity to explore their learning through different methods will help increase their learning as well as broaden their experiences. I have to remind myself frequently, that I must not surrender to the clock. I want to utilize the time in the classroom and find a balance of getting through all the work while also allowing for time to be spent learning in other ways or character building.
I think you are such a gift to all your students. It is amazing to see all your hard work in teaching as well as your investment in helping instill positive values into their lives, that will ultimately build a strong foundation for their future.
Great work!