Wow! Well said. A must read!

Enjoying the Journey:  Why Teaching is so Doggone Hard


http://jenniechastain.blogspot.com/2013/08/why-teaching-is-so-doggone-hard.html?spref=fb

Handling School Supplies

What is more overwhelming than having a three hour Open House? Your brain spins as you meet 27 new students and almost double that number of parents, try to answer a gazillion questions, and collect a mountain of school supplies from each child.  My first Open House experience occurred two years ago, when I moved into a new, and very unique, school district.  I was not prepared for the onslaught of questions, nervousness, swarm of bodies, and supplies.  That year, when students and parents arrived with huge shopping bags full of school supplies, I silently panicked but simply said, "Write your name on the bag and place it in the corner."  My second year, I had a little epiphany that helped me with both the collecting of school supplies and, afterwards, the sorting..  This year, I have several more new ideas that I hope will help with the chaos that accompanies Open House.

This is what I do:

First, you need to know that I collect almost all of their supplies.  Students do not have enough space in our portables to keep their own notebooks, glue sticks, pencils, etc.  Besides, I color code all of their notebooks and journals, so our team has asked that they purchase specific colored spirals and pocket folders this year.  I collect specific items and hand them out methodically as we set up our notebooks and learn the "system" on the first day of school.

With all of that being said, last year I set up bins or just designated tables in various parts of the classroom. I had 8 1/2 x 11 card stock signs beside each bin.  They were labelled:  "Pocket folders", "Tape", "Glue Sticks", "Composition books", "Pencils", "Hand Sanitizer", "Clorox Wipes", Sticky Notes", "Kleenex" "NoteCards", etc.  You get the picture.  Some of my teammates came into my room prior to Open House and immediately returned to their rooms to do the same.  It gets so chaotic and can become quite a mess if you not have a system.

I also had a note on the board asking students to put supplies in labelled bins without writing their names on them (this year we stated this on our 6th Grade Supply List) and to put the remaining items in their desks (pencil sharpeners, colored pencils, pencil pouches, and so on).  I do this, not only to help me keep the items organized but also because some students do not follow the special requests on the supply list.  For examples, they might bring 5 red folders instead of the assigned assorted colors.  By pooling everything, when it comes time to hand out and label notebooks on the first day, it usually all balances out so that there is just enough of every color for each student.  If not, I have been able to switch out colors with teammates who do not color code or I use some from my secret stash.

Being a little OCD, color coding is a must in my classroom.  It serves not only to satisfy my OCD tendencies, but also to help as I attempt to teach my students organizational skills before they go to middle school the following year.  Organizational skills is something that I focus on all year long.  It definitely pays off.  Even the students appreciate it, some later than others!

After they leave, I find a place in my classroom to store these items, some just until the first day of school, but some (like pencils, notecards, kleenex, wipes, sanitizer, tape) are stored some place out of the way,

to be handed out throughout the school year.

This worked extremely well for me last year and I think a few little tweaks will make it run even more smoothly this year.

I hope this idea helps someone else to maintain their sanity on such a crazy day!

Taking Care of You

In 17 years of teaching, one of the biggest challenges that I have seen in the classroom (and experienced myself because years of experience do not always alleviate this problem) is that teachers inadvertently allow their school work to take priority over their personal well being and their personal lives.  Yes, I am guilty. The demands are high, especially if you want to do a good job.  I could go on about that all day, with a list a mile long, but I won't!  We all know the answers.

This summer, however, I found running (or, rather, a new dedication to it) and have experienced the many positive effects of it.  My mind seems clearer, I have more energy, I am a happier person, I feel better about myself, and I enjoy feeling going outside and just running!  I am 51 and I just ran my first 5K this summer.  It was a very proud moment for me.  Whether you run, go to the gym, practice yoga, ride your bike, or do some other physical activity, please remember that it is important that you MAKE the time to do these things FOR YOU.  Don't take no for an answer.  Don't make excuses.  Don't try to work it into your schedule...work your schedule around your activity.

Another realization that I have come to is this:  not every activity that the kids complete needs to be graded by me, maybe I don't need to assess as often as I do, and not everything needs to be returned the next day. Entrance and exit tickets are a quick way to check understanding, students can check their own work and turn it in for you to get a feel for their mastery, and so on...so, I will do what I can while I am at school.  Last year, I was guilty of bringing at least two bags of work, as well as my work laptop, home every single day and every single weekend.  By the time that I had taken care of what needed to be done at home (and what I could not delegate to my sweet, neglected but understanding husband), I would find that it was 9 pm (or later) and I was about ready to hit the sack.  Too many nights, I stayed up working, fighting to keep my eyes open.

Friends, this is no life.  We cannot continue to do this and still have time to stop and smell the roses.  Everyone needs to develop a plan for ways to balance home and work.

Unfortunately, it is 17 years later, my son is a senior in high school, I have missed too much of his growing up, and I have let my own health fall to the side.  NO MORE.   Learn this from me and from your colleagues who have been there, done that.  Do it today.  Make that plan and STICK TO IT!

Fantasy Football in the Classroom

Since I am a huge football fanatic, both college and pro, I have toyed with the idea of using the Fantasy Football guide to having something fun to do with my students once a week.  There is a resource available to help you integrate it, if you are interested.  Just wanted to share some testimonials that I found.

student feedback:   http://fantasysportsmath.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=28

resources:  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author-exact=Dan%20Flockhart&results-process=default

Word Within the Word

Since I teach Advanced Academics, I am a strong advocate for the use of Michael Clay Thompson's The Word Within the Word.  Having taken three years of Latin in high school myself, I have first hand knowledge of how helpful word stems have been in my reading and writing experiences in college and adult life.  A colleague and I have put together and implemented our own activities and routines for each "list".  We have both seen tremendous growth in our students' writing vocabulary and structure as well as in their reading comprehension as they attack new words and decode their meaning using the stems that we highlight each week (25 stems per week with a major focus on 8 vocabulary words/stems each week).  In the past, we have tested weekly, but after surveying my students at the end of the past school year, I have decided to change things up a bit by testing every two weeks.

The Word Within the Word has 20 lists.  So far we have only been able to get in the first 17 lists in a school year.  We test on Fridays (make up our own tests which incorporate vocabulary word usage in context, sentence structure and writing, as well as a few other grammar skills).  After each test, students pick up the chart for the next word list, which they will be tested on two weeks later.  During these two weeks, we have created short morning work activities for them to do to help them delve a bit deeper and really internalize these stem meanings.

Each student keeps their activities (glue-in in the past but we are changing that a little this year) in their own Word Within the Word or Word Study notebooks.  By the end of the year, each student has a valuable resource that can be used well into their high school and college years!

This summer, I have found some new ideas on Pinterest and hope to implement some of them in the coming year.

The Southern Perspective

My students enjoy being exposed to the Southern perspective of life and history.  I tell them that at the end of the year most of them will be tri-lingual....English, their native language (very diverse ethnic population), and Southern!  ;-)

Thoughts on the first days

Those first days of the school year are quickly approaching (much too quickly...didn't we just pack up for the summer?) and the gears are already turning, although I don't think they ever stopped.  I do try to spend a portion of my summer re-organizing my electronic folders as well as my content notebooks.  At the end of each year, I make a list of things that I want to change for the upcoming year and I also ask students for their input on anything that they believe could be done more effectively.  As rising 7th graders, I feel that they are mature enough to do so and have used many of their suggestions in the past.

So, as I work on my files during the summer, relax by the pool (or so it appears), go on my daily run, or work on a crochet project, I am still multi-tasking as I plan new things for the new school year.  Pinterest, I must say, has been a tremendous source of inspiration, fresh ideas, and great connections to other teachers. I guess that you can say, even at 5:00 a.m. on summer break, I am thinking about the new school year which will begin, for me in....two weeks.  Oh my!

I just wanted to quickly share some of the biggest challenges that I anticipate for this coming year and, hopefully, someone out there may have suggestions that will somehow make these challenges a bit easier to face.

First and foremost is the challenge of less classroom space.  Some physical changes have taken place in my classroom over the summer and it appears that I have lost a good bit of wall space as well as storage space.  We have rather large classes here...we average 27 students per classroom and, to add to that, sixth grade classes are in portables.  When I visit my colleagues inside the building, I can't help but to marvel (and feel some jealousy) at their large classrooms and the tremendous amount of storage space that they have.  That goes without saying how much I envy their close proximity to restrooms! :-)

There is always the schedule and time challenge.  How do we get it all done in a day's time and, more importantly, before testing.  I have found that good long and short term planning is the key and, after that, it is so much easier to focus on doing the best that I can...one day at a time!

Even as I am finishing up the organization of files and long range planning for the new year, I am also planning in my head (and on paper) ways that I can maximize my space and make it appealing to the eye as well.  As I work my way through this challenge, I will share my experiences...the roadblocks as well as the revelations!

I must say, however, that I have been truly blessed with hardworking students who have a great attitude toward school and who have been willing to work together in our classroom to make it more like a family atmosphere.  That, alone, makes going to work each day so much easier.  I have also been blessed with great teammates and with very supportive parents.  I guess I can say that I have been truly blessed and I truly look forward to another year of more blessings.