Normalized Exclusion

I was talking with a friend of mine who is an elementary teacher from southern Saskatchewan. One of her favourite things to do is put together and organize fun, celebratory days focused around holidays and birthdays.  When I think about my own time in school, I have to admit that I also consider those class parties some of the best memories I have as a child. But as she went on I started to feel a little bit sad.  She shared how she had a couple of students in her class that had to remove themselves from each celebration because their religions forbade them taking part.

To be clear, I wasn't sad because I thought it was unfair that the students had to sit out in the hall or miss an entire day of school because of an unfair set of religious guidelines and expectations.  Quite the opposite-I was sad because of how normal my friend thought the whole situation was.  What ensued was a lengthy conversation about why she decided to go through with it all in the end even though some students could not be included.  

I was surprised to find she didn't really bat an eye at the fact that these students were being excluded.  Actually she didn't even really consider looking at the situation in that way at all. One of the first statements she made was that she figured the rest of her students shouldn't miss out because only a couple of them weren't allowed to take part. 

I have to admit I don't understand that argument. I always thought that a big part of teaching was focusing on those pieces of the world that were not represented in the dominant culture. But when we selectively exclude students based in any number of things, including religion, we are not only reinforcing the dominant culture, but we are telling our students that some voices are more important than others; that some ways of life are "normal" and "acceptable" and some are not. 

How can we teach empathy when we deliberately exclude? How can we teach compassion or equity, or kindness when we establish hierarchies in the classroom? 

These are hard questions and require a lot of self-reflection, and can even cause feelings of anger, frustration and resentment. I feel like some days I do a pretty bang up job when it comes to inclusion. Most days I have that nagging feeling that I am just not doing enough.  Plus I always find it harder to reflect on what I'm not including and WHY I'm not including it, than reflecting on what I've included and ways I can improve. 

At the end of our conversation, we politely agreed to disagree, and moved on to talking about when we would catch up the next time she was home for a visit.  Even though we've been friends for years, I can't help feel like the conversation has changed our relationship in a very profound way.  I never meant to make her feel bad or like she had to defend herself to me, but I definitely wanted to shed a different light on the situaion. I hoped she could understand a different point of view, if not agree with it.   

SUM2015: Taking Time to Learn

This weekend I attended the SUM Conference in Saskatoon, focusing all of my attention on ways to become a better math teacher.  As a student in elementary and high school, I would have been considered an average math student.  I wasn't blowing anybody's mind with my mathematical genius, but I wasn't giving my teachers any headaches because I didn't know what I was doing.  Average.   
Turns out, the joke is on all my past math teachers.  I didn't know what I was doing.  I had no number sense.  I didn't understand place value.  I had no skills in applying math.  I don't even want to talk about word problems and solving for x.  Truth be told, as an adult, I have a limited (one might say basic) understanding of math. 
When I was told about the conference, I was initially very excited to go.  But after a few days to think about it, I became really nervous about it.  I began to think about the situation I was potentially walking in to.  I decided that I was probably going to be in a room, filled with people who, more than likely, were enthusiastic about math, considered themselves "good" at math, and who had mostly positive personal experiences in math.  This is not me.  Sure I memorized the formula, rules or steps to get the job done, but it was hard for me.  I remember pre-reinforcing my paper to protect those ever-important notes that contained every step I needed to complete questions that would fill my entire page.  I almost always had to turn around in my desk to ask a friend for help; a sure sign that I was wasting time, therefore not putting in enough effort, subsequently loosing precious marks that would have otherwise boosted my final grade.  On the rare occasion I did muster up the courage to get up and walk over to my teacher who was sitting at his desk watching us and listening to the sound of pencils scratching over paper, the events looked something like this:  He would stretch out his hand to take my paper, but never look at me.  His eyes focused on the class in front of him.  He never asked what my question was.  He found the question I was having trouble with, crossed out my work, and did the question for me, nary an explanation in sight.  Then he stretched out his arm again, without looking at me, and gave my paper back to me. 
All of these (and other) experiences came pouring over me and I began to develop anxiety about it.  I didn't want to be the only person in the room who didn't get math.  I didn't want to be the only person in the room having to work hard.  I didn't want to be the only person in the room who couldn't share, didn't have the right answer or had nothing to offer.  And when I was done going through all the possible horrible scenarios I could think of, I gave my head a shake and went anyway.
I am so glad I did.  I was still massively out of my comfort zone, but I couldn't believe all I was learning about math, how I understood it, and how to teach it to my students, or rather, how to have my students teach it to me.
I took away a general message of "Play, talk, stay out of the way!".  Play is an essential part of student learning.  While this message is not unfamiliar to me, I think it's safe to say that, in general, we teach the "play" out of students.  Over the course of the weekend I have learned that I teach the play out of my students when I show them that there is only one way to solve an equation, and then step in every time they require assistance.  I also do this when I don't validate their ideas, and even when I give them praise.  I do this, still, when I simply don't give them time to play. 
In all fairness, I don't exactly know what math play looks like.  I don't remember playing in math myself as a student, so I don't even have anything to lean on so I can "fake it 'til I make it".  I think that it looks like me giving students a problem, then allowing them to access a variety of learning tools to help them show their understanding , and giving them time to solve that problem in multiply ways.  That's what it's going to look like for our class right now, anyway.  (Suggestions welcome!)
As they play, they have to have a chance to talk.  This is vital.  It's vital because in doing this, they justify their thinking to one another, and to me.  They learn what respectful listening is, and how to respectfully respond to an idea.  They learn patience, how to ask questions, how to trust their own thinking, and how to deal with mistakes. 
Writing it this way seems a little rosy, I know.  The truth is that students will need many opportunities to practice these skills, and infinitely more reminders about the expectations, but I know from past experiences with students that they can do it!  It's not fair of us to assume our students know how to do these things when they come to us.  Neither is it fair for us to show them once, and expect they "get it".   What is fair is laying out very specific guidelines for expectations, and giving students chances to show us they can do what is expected.  Fair is also being patient as they learn, and being even more patient when they forget themselves.
The importance of "talking" was driven home by Dr. Ruth Parker, who shared her invaluable knowledge of Number Talks.  She modeled for us the teacher role, and we were her students, engaging in discussion and sharing our thinking and understanding of the problems put before us.  What I found most interesting is that, in general, we (the adults) had very complex ways of solving problems.  Once we shared our thinking, she would say, "Want to see what my 5th graders did?".  And without fail, every time, they showed a deep(er) understanding of math, and solved the problem more practically and in less steps than us.  It.  Was.  Awesome. 
I quickly understood the value of number talks, and realized that I am doing them (to a small degree) by accident in my classroom.  I'm also doing them incorrectly.  The biggest mistake that I'm making is that I'm acknowledging the students thinking, instead of simply recording it.  While I mean to praise students as a way to encourage them, I'm ultimately having the opposite effect.  I'm creating an environment that is unsafe for students who might be timid to share, lest their idea not be worthy of "oh, interesting!", "did you notice what she did?!" or "great idea!".  I am not encouraging independent thinking with those comments either.  I'm encouraging everyone to think like the students I'm praising.  I'm certainly not helping students discover intrinsic motivation.  I guess the silver lining in all this is that I realize what I am doing.  And when I know better, I do better. 
Learning to "stay out of the way" is another vital piece to student learning.  During her presentation, Dr. Parker emphasized the importance of letting the students take the reigns when using number talks.  This is student time.  It's a time for them to share their own thinking-correct or not.  It's not a time for me as a teacher, to interject, make suggestions, point out mistakes, or even use a "teachable moment".  There is a time and a place for all those things, but number talks are very strictly opportunities for students to talk.
As she modeled the role of the teacher for us, she would record our thinking, never once assuming that she knew what we were saying.  We were always asked to explain what we did, how we grouped images, and ultimately, how we added or subtracted numbers.  For me, this is a vital piece, because, in assuming I know what a student is thinking/saying, I might be leading them away from their true thought, and stifling their math creativity. 
The conference is over and I am mentally exhausted and completely satisfied, committed to making changes to my teaching and our daily math routines immediately.  I'm so excited to go to work on Monday and have our first number talk, and I look forward to playing in our classroom-even though I don't know what that means exactly, and expect that will be my next uncomfortably steep learning curve.  The good news about uncomfortable learning is that your brain literally grows as you make mistakes.  I have to remember to share that with my students... 

A Book-A-Day...

During the summer holiday I was roaming through Twitter when I came across an image of one of the coolest bulletin boards I had ever seen. A teacher, (Jillian Heise-@heisereads) had made a giant grid on the school wall and filled the grid with book cover images of picture books she read to her class over the year.  One book for every day of school. Below her very amazing image was the hashtag, #bookaday. I knew immediately this was something I wanted to do, so I committed right then and there to creating a similar board. 

You'd think reading one book a day to students would be easy, but in actuality, a fair bit of thought has to go into it. Where do I start?  What do I focus on for those very crazy first few weeks?  What are the messages I hope to share?  What are "good books" I could use. 

I was lucky in the sense that I started the year by introducing Daily 5. I knew it was possible for our class to take up to nearly a whole month to become comfortable with the processes and follow expectations, so we spent a significant chunk of September learning the CAFE Menu, and practicing a small handful of reading strategies. Luckily, there are many suggested books on the Daily Cafe website for teaching reading strategies, so that was a great place to start. I also had a good look through our school and public libraries, I read "Writing Power" by Adrienne Gear which had great suggestions for anchor books for writing, and, as is often the case, the Internet was a great source. I used Twitter and simply followed the hashtags. I mentioned #bookaday, but I also stumbled across #classroombookaday and #nerdybookclub, which are all really good sources for finding books. I also simply went on Amazon and let my mouse take me away!  

So far, our Book-A-Day board has been a success. My students are looking forward to seeing the board fill up over the year, and are quick to remind me when I haven't put up the image of "yesterday's book". 

On the book cover images I have added the strategy or lesson the book is related to. 

We began the year with letter writing and I used several books to anchor the format for writing letters, and to provide students with lots of examples. The books we used for this were "Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters From Obedience School", 

"I Wanna Iguana", and "Dear Mr. Blueberry". 

I'm also looking forward to having our Book-A-Day Board fill up as the year progresses.  If you have any suggestions for anchor books that can be used for reading or writing, I'd be happy to have them!!

It's Only September...

The month is almost up and the honeymoon is definitely over. Our students' true colours are shining through, and ours are too. And an all-too-familiar feeling is starting to settle into the pits of educator stomachs. If left unchecked, this feeling can cause some serious problems. This feeling's name...is panic. Well, it's actually that nagging feeling you get before panic. Pre-panic.

 

You might be thinking the following:

"Where are all those papers with that important information I need that I got with all those other papers at the beginning of the year?"

"We still haven't mastered the routines in our classroom!" 

"I have assessments that have to be finished in 1/2/3 weeks!"

"The other class is so much farther ahead than I am!"  

"I should really be organizing that."

"Are my pants seriously on backwards right now...?"

Well that last one might be a bit far-fetched, but you get the idea. 

When I touch base with other teachers, one of their (and mine) concerns is how long it seems to take for students to follow classroom procedures. It's difficult to ignore because we need those procedures in place to help us as we teach for the rest of the year. It's so easy to become frustrated, especially when you think you sound like a broken record and, saying the same thing over and over and over and over and over....

Here's what I try to ask and remind myself of when I'm starting to feel overwhelmed in September:

1.  They're kids. All of them. From 5 to 18.  And they just came back from a two month vacation, and if I'm tired, they probably are too. 

2.  Am I just expecting too much?  There's a lot for students to adjust to this time of year. It's important for me to remind myself that I'm not the only one with a full plate. 

4. Did I explain procedures well, or did I assume they're mind readers?   Sometimes, I think they're mind readers. But they aren't. Two words. Exlpicit. Teaching.

5. Get a grip. It's only September. 

And really, that's what it comes down to for me. I can be really hard on myself because the pieces of the puzzle have not all perfectly fallen into place.  But that's not fair to me or my students. I am trying to be consistent, fair, kind, and patient because it will all work out in the end. And after all, it's only September. 

Body Breaks

I can't say enough good things about body breaks and brain breaks.  I love them.  I think that they are a gift to teachers and to the sanity of teachers. 

I recently had a conversation with a new teacher who asked me a great question, and then made a very honest comment.
"What is the difference between a body break and a brain break?" and "I just don't know if I can fit it in my lesson with so much content to cover."

In reference to the question, I can offer my own interpretation of body and brain breaks.  To me, a body break is a set amount of time for students to get up and move around.  This doesn't always mean to get them in front of a SMART board for a 5 minute dance-a-long.  Sometimes it does, but most of the time, at least for me, it doesn't. 

I usually try to follow this general rule when using body breaks: "Short time, high intensity".  I want to get as much out of about 2 minutes as I can.  I want to get their blood pumping, and their heart beating faster.  One way to do this is by doing what I refer to as Physical Copycat.  I do various cardio movements, which students are expected to mirror...in silence (for the most part).  I jog in one place, do knee lifts, squats, hopping, and move my arms up, down and in circles.  Granted, this also gets MY heart pumping, but it's fine.  Usually I need a little pick me up too.

Another break is a table walk.  I have my students split up into small groups around one of the tables in our room and let them walk around it for 30 seconds.  Sometimes I say "switch" to tell them to move in the opposite direction.  I used to give students a set number of laps to do, but they always ended up doing the last lap more than once, so I switched to timing.  Frankly it helps keep me less annoyed.  This is also easily done around desks in pods.  I just split my students into their pod groups and send them on a walk. 

A brain break, on the other hand, is like allowing students to have a "thinking time-out".  They essentially get a break from whatever it is they are learning about, but you may not ask them to get up and move. 

I taught my students the hand jive recently.  That was funny. We started off really slow, and then "jived" progressively faster until we were going as fast as we could.  I was really trying to impress students with my super fast hand jiving skills, going as fast as I could go when one of my students stopped me and said, "You better slow down.  Your face is getting red."  !!  I love kids.

Another favorite is Copycat Clap.  Basically I clap different rhythms and students are expected to copy it in unison.  I don't give them any warning when I start, that way it doubles as a brain break and a strategy for getting students attention.

There are times when students need a significant break.  (And by significant I mean 5 minutes max.)  Sometimes, the go-to's just don't work anymore.  It's during these moments when I turn to on-line body break options.  I have three favorites.

The first is Go Noodle.  This site allows teachers to set up their class for free and choose a character.  Every time a body break option is completed, points are scored for their character.  There are a lot of options from dancing, to coordination to calming activities.  If you set it up on your favorites, it's easy to get to, and basically ready to go with minimal instructional time wasted.

My other two favorites can be accessed on You Tube.  The Learning Station and Just Dance are definitely student favorites.  The Learning Station has some really fun repeat-after-me songs (Go Bananas and Boom Chicka Boom) that are easy for students to learn and follow, and Just Dance gets them moving to their favorite tunes. 

An honorable mention here would be simple breathing activities.  Breathe in through the nose for a 3 count, hold that breath for a 3 count, and, controlling the breath, breathe out from the mouth for a 5 count.  This is a great way to calm a rowdy crowd. 

Now, moving on to the topic of time, and where we might fit in these breaks. 

I can definitely empathize with this teacher.  There is a lot for us to do in a week, a day, a period, but this is what I know.  If I give my students break, it helps them perform better.  For example, think of the last ten or 15 minutes of class before lunch.  Things can start to get a little hairy sometimes.  Maybe your time is the end of the day, or after a recess.  I've found I can either run around like a chicken with my head cut off, spouting all manner of stern but ineffective teacher talk at my student in the hopes that they will (PLEASE!) do something, or I can pause, use some of that time to choose and use an appropriate break activity (or activity combo), and then get back to work.  I will admit that it's not fool proof, and sometimes I have to try a couple to get them back to a productive place, but generally I see improvement.

As for when to use body breaks, I say it kind of depends.  Sometimes I schedule them into my lesson-after I've taught a new concept or read a book to the class.  Sometimes I want to teach a lesson and allow my students to stay focused for as long as they can.  Once I feel the energy in the room heightening, I use a body break.  There are some times when I just forget too.  This usually happens because I feel like I have lots to do that class.  What ends up happening is I find myself constantly asking students to focus on me, stop talking, stop playing, stop twiddling...  I'm getting better at recognizing these behaviors in myself, and that becomes a good indicator for when to use a body or brain break.

I would also like to say as an aside that if I am noticing a consistent lack of engagement and focus in my students, the first thing I do is look at my lesson.  Is it something that is engaging for students?  Have I explained the processes well?  Is there a purposeful reason for doing it?

Hope that helps to get you moving!
Happy dancing/clapping/squatting/copycatting/breathing/jogging-in-one-place...ing!

A Book A Day

This year I have committed to reading at least one full picture book to my grade 3 class a day. I have made a board for our classroom dedicated specifically to this idea, which we already lovingly refer to as our book-a-day-board.  On it, I post a 4x6 print out of the cover of the book we read together.  By the end of the year, we will have close to 200 book covers represented on the wall!

Although I want to help students cultivate a love for reading, we aren't simply reading these books just for fun. This is also a way for me to teach content, and model using strategies. 

I want to place reading at the forefront of our day as a way to underscore its importance. I usually begin by reinforcing the idea that reading everyday is important, and when we choose good fit books (re: The Daily 5), reading is so fun!

I also want to build a sense of community within our classroom.  Reading our book-a-day book happens in the whole group space in our classroom (I eagerly await the giant rug that's in order!). 

In this space, students are asked to sit closely together as they listen.  Then, when the book is finished, they have to discuss it in one way or another. So far students have practiced a turn and talk (students stay seated), and stand and talk (students can move around this way). 

Because it is so early in the year, we've been focusing on basic strategies for reading.  Using picture books, I have been able to model how I expect students to use these reading strategies daily.  There is already a class favorite on our board.  Toads on Toast by Linda Bailey is a book I used to model a comprehension strategy (Check for Understanding).

I recently read a great blog post by a middle school teacher who uses picture books in her classes to teach all kinds of concepts. I highly recommend checking it out. And don't forget to peruse through the links. She also offers up lists of book suggestions. 

A link to the blog post can be found below. 

Happy reading!

http://pernillesripp.com/2015/09/02/but-how-do-you-really-teach-with-picture-books/

Transitioning and Getting Student's Attention.

When I think of strategies meant to get student's attention, I think back to my first year of teaching and remember how I didn't have any. 

...

Well, none that were very effective. I look back and give myself a slap on the forehead when I think about it now. I tried the "Pause and Wait", I tried the "Give Me Five", I tried the "Ignore and Keep Teaching" (FYI-don't try that one).  Oy-What was I thinking!  

Thankfully, I now have some strategies that I'm proud to say have worked successfully!  (Applause is appreciated.) One of the favorites for my students last year was "Copy Cat". When I needed to give further instruction, or have students transition, I clapped a rhythm that they were required to copy in unison.

When teaching this strategy, I gave students ample opportunities to practice. First, I explained the procedure, showed how it worked, then we practiced. It was explained to me by a mentor that, no matter what strategy I used, it was necessary to explain to students that they were responsible for finding me wherever I was in the class and keeping their eyes on me for instruction. That was so important, and was one of the best pieces of advice. This strategy quickly became our "go to". We even used it for body breaks. During this time, students volunteered to lead the group in a Copy Cat Body Break. 

I also used a count down strategy. I would say, "Ok class I need your attention in 3-2-1."  This one also worked extremely well. Again, eye contact was expected and hands off whatever they were doing at the time was expected. 

I make sure I have two or three good strategies to use because even with these, students get bored. I mix them up, use one for several days, then a different one. But the constant is that students must follow the expectations that follow: eye contact, and hands off. 

I am particularly excited to use a sound strategy this year with the help of a device called The No Yell Bell. 

It has volume control, and seven settings for different sounds including an alarm and applause-which could be really fun during a Q & A session, or class game. 

It's so simple, even I could use it!  I plan on using this for transitions between tasks as well. There is a chimes setting on it as well which will be the perfect sound to ease students out of any activity they are doing as they practice strategies for learning. 

If you would like to hear the No Yell Bell, chimes in action you can find me on Twitter @iteachandlearn2. 

Please let me know your go-to attention grabbers by commenting or tweeting. 

New Year, New Class, New Spaces

A teacher looks at a year in two ways. First, there is "The Standard Year".  This is the way everyone looks at a year. It begins in January and ends in December.  There is also "The School Year".  This year begins, (for teachers, anyway) in August and ends in June.  So, if we are following this rule of thumb, a new School Year has technically already started. 

There is a lot of preparation, as teachers know, to get ready for the new year. For me, a large chunk of time is spent on preparing our class space. This year, the time put into organizing the classroom was well worth it, and I hope that the grade 3 students who come into this space feel relaxed, welcome and inspired. 

For me, classroom set up is the key to all things.  It has everything to do with how I teach, the strategies I use and the skills and at activities that I intend students to focus on. When I put the teaching strategies I learned together with Daily 5 routines and procedures, I knew I was finally on the path to teaching in a way that benefits students, and matches my philosophy of education. 

Having a variety of spaces is a great way to help foster independence in students. They learn what works for them and, with guidance, learn strategies that will help keep them focused to optimize their learning. In our classroom, I have set up spaces that reference the Daily 5 procedures, and allow for student choice. Below is an example of one of these spaces.  This is the "Math Space". In it is the Math Daily 3 board, which acts like a Daily 5 board and a CAFE board in one.  Next to it is an information board. Students will find posters that reference strategies, number representations and other important Math information. 

You'll also notice there are some small plastic bins in this center.  These bins are for math manipulatives and math notebooks.  These bins aren't full because I only put materials out that students are using at the time. I've learned that putting out more than is needed at the time becomes visual noise.

There are also spaces for students to sit. A low coffee table provides seating for students that would like to work sitting on the floor or seated on small pillows...

and the taller end table is exactly the right size for students to pull up a chair and get to work. 

I call this area the "math space" loosely. This is not just a space where students will work on math. Clearly there aren't enough spaces for more than 20 students. Instead, they will practice any strategy in any subject here. It is, however, the space for students to access the majority of supplies they will use in Math. 

Just as students are required to find Good Fit Books, finding a Good Fit Space to work and stay focused is equally as important. This space is just one way to help students do that. 

 

Math Games

That time of year is quickly approaching-back to school!  I'm excited-I always look forward to it, and eagerly anticipate meeting my new students, creating memories, and mutual learning.  

One of the things I'm always on the lookout for are fun math games. I recently came across a blog post on a blog called Corkboard Connections that made five very good suggestions which would be very easily incorporated into a class. Games are a great way for students to practice strategies without having to do a boat load of textbook questions.  Happy "gaming"!  

http://corkboardconnections.blogspot.ca/2015/01/5-math-games-every-classroom-needs-to.html?m=1

Summer and Learning

I'm a firm believer that everyone needs the summer vacation. Students, parents, teachers, support staff, and specialists. We all need to reboot. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I spent a fair amount of time wondering about how much my students retained, and who spent time reading, playing math games, or even drawing pictures. Basically anything that means not watching TV or playing video games. 

I'm not anti-TV. There are some YouTube videos and TV shows that my 2 year old son really enjoys. And Despicable Me. Oh my goodness, Despicable Me.  I do, however, try to put a cap on "screen time", and when I do, I watch the most amazing things happen. He learns!

On walks he sees pine cones, learns names of birds (though most of them are robins), learns the difference between the road and sidewalk, and that when he whines and doesn't hold my hand to cross the street, he gets a time out for not listening. ; )

I made him a sensory bin with rice and threw in some containers, spoons, rocks, and trucks. I saw him fill, dump, find, count, and make a major mess. It was the best. 

I was so proud of his learning!

Through these and other moments, I began to realize that maybe I thought too much about a certain kind of learning...a formal kind of learning.  I realized that I am probably not giving my students enough credit about the things they learn over the summer, and that these are also important for the upcoming year. 

It's also a good way to reflect on the upcoming year and begin to think about how students learn best. Do they learn best sitting in rows, filling out worksheets and being compliant?  Is that how our children learn best?  

I have to say that I didn't give my son a detailed lecture about how to use a spoon to eat soup, have him fill out a work sheet labelling the different parts of a typical dinner, grade him, then move on to the the next unit, "Tidy Up Time-Putting Away Your Toys".  

It may be a dramatic example, but I think the point rings true. 

Let's celebrate the fact that our students are learning over the summer, and try to think of ways to incorporate what they know into what they are going to learn with us this year!

Summer Reading

As a teacher, I generally like to spend the first part of my summer doing some light reading, and I'll be recommending a few good reads to my students as well.  

I recently came across a reading list on Twitter titled "50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12". It's a pretty good list, and it even got me thinking about revisiting some of the books on the list myself.  I've decided this is a good idea because: 

1.  I would like something fun and simple to read as a start to my summer. 

2.  I never read a book the same way twice.  

You can find a link to the the list below.  It could be a good list to recommend to your students, or to look over with your own kids and read a book on the list together. 

Happy summer reading!

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/50-books-all-kids-should-read-before-theyre-12

Field Trips

Today was a great day!  Our Grade 4 class piggy-backed with the Grade 3 class and we went to a petting zoo for our field trip. It was great, and the kids could pick up and pet loads of animals. They had so much fun. They even had a chance to hold a snake around their necks if they wanted!  I got some great pictures. One of my students was cuddling on a goat while another goat was nibbling on her shirt. She was so oblivious-it was priceless. 

Recently at a staff meeting we found out the budget we had this year for field trips would not exist next year. There are lots of ways to raise funds for field trips, but unfortunately for some families there isn't a penny to spare. 

As far as I'm concerned, hands-on, experiential learning is best. When students can see, touch, hear, smell, maybe even taste, they are not only more interested, they retain information better.  But on those occasions when a field trip isn't a possibility, there are field trips of the virtual variety. 

Museums, factories, companies; there are more options for virtual tours than you might think. Many are interactive, and sometimes, there are even guided tours. They are worth taking a look at, and even if you can't get a hands on experience during your "trip" you might be able to supplement lessons befor or after with other sensory experiences. 

Below are some links for you to look through to see what's available for you if a virtual field trip is something you're interested in. 

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/04/07/ten-of-the-best-virtual-field-trips/

http://theteachersguide.bmobilized.com/?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ca%2F&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theteachersguide.com%2Fvirtualtours.html

Helping Students Succeed

One of the most interesting things I have learned is how important it can be for the success of students to have access to a variety of tools to support their learning. 

Sometimes, these tools are used as whole class supports to reinforce an idea, concept or strategy. One that immediately comes to mind are Base 10's. I love using these to help students visually understand concepts and deepen their understanding. Some perks of using these manipulatives has to be the happy faces I see when we use them, and the comments that follow the end of a class: "Woah!  It's lunchtime already?!".  Success!

Other times, tools might be designated for specific students. I use timers to help particular students stay focused. One strategy I have for a student is centred around using a one minute timer.  He must write or read for an entire minute. When the sand runs out, he can get up, walk across the room and touch the door. After that, he must turn and walk back to his seat, sit down, flip the timer and work for another minute. 

There are so many intelligent and creative teachers out there who have discovered or created ways to use tools to support learning that it really is worth spending a few minutes of your day popping in to a colleagues room to say, "Hi there!  So what would you do if..."  Thanking/bribing with chocolate never hurts. 

Below is a link that suggests other tools you could use support student learning. Hope you find it helpful!

http://www.theedadvocate.org/10-tools-to-help-teachers-develop-executive-functioning-classroom-skills/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost

Classroom Space Matters

As I have spent a significant amount of time during the last half of this school year redesigning my space to accommodate my students individual needs, I appreciated running across the following article referencing a study done regarding the positive impact that unique classroom space can have on student learning as I scrolled through Twitter. 

Essentially, the article summarizes the study and explains what characteristics classrooms that impacted student learning the most had.  Naturalness (natural light, air quality and temperature) had the greatest impact overall. 

If you are teetering on the edge of making some major changes to your space, this might be just the article you need to read. There is also a link to the actual study in the article. 

Here's the link!

http://www.theedadvocate.org/study-finds-that-well-designed-classrooms-boost-student-success/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost

Changing the Tools For Learning

It's late, and I'm tired, but I have to share this.

I apologize in advance for coming across as a lightweight in the technology department, but please stay with me. If you haven't heard of what I'm about to share, I'm happy to know I'm not the only green horn out there. 

Recently, I was given a link to a very interesting article regarding the inclusion of technology in the classroom.  The article was titled 10 Ways to Reach SAMR's Redefinition Level.  One of the suggestions to achieve this was to use a tool called Nearpod. Seriously, if I learned this way in school, I'd have thought I went to the coolest school ever. I probably would have sat down to learn anything. It is a very cool program that I sincerely hope I have the chance to try out. For a quick look at how Nearpod works,click on the link below to watch the video. 

Come on, commit to trying something new!  (There's still two weeks left!!)

http://youtu.be/oOhwDAC-aok

Hitting Education's Funny Bone

Tune into CBC tonight to watch the Winnipeg Comedy Festival.  Tonight's topic: Edumacation.  Gerry Dee is hosting.  It's funny 'cause it's true!

Thinking About Next Year...

I know you're all thinking I'm nuts, but hear me out.

Teachers have the great skill of planning ahead and being prepared, and even though the idea of thinking about next year before this year is over seems like cruel and unusual punishment, the reality is you probably have already been thinking about what you're going to do differently next year either in planning, or assessment, or management.

I've embarked on a major change this year by committing to reorganizing my classroom so that it's a better student-centered space.  But there is so much more that I need to do!

One of the big changes I plan on making for next year is making sure that I never have to use those ghastly fluorescent lights AT ALL!  (Well, not "at all"-they are useful when I need to energize my students with a body break, but that's the only time when I have them all on at one time anymore.)  I can promise that I don't have an unwarranted dislike for them.
 
In the first half of the year, we used all of the fluorescent lights all of the time.  I noticed that I was suffering from migraines, and after eliminating various possible triggers, I realized that it could very possibly be the lights that were causing me pain.  When I started to think about it more, I noticed I had the worst migraines after long weekends or holidays (situations when I came back to school after longer periods of time) and that many of my students were complaining of headaches too.  So we made a light switch (pun intended) for the better.  

There are 3 switches that control 3 separate banks of lights in our room.  Today, I would say that 90% of the time, we use light from the middle bank only, and keep the curtains to the window open.  Not only have headache complaints dwindled down to a minimum (including my own), I have noticed many positive changes in behavior as well.  Now I only turn on all the lights in order to re-energize the students.

Spring and summer clearly offer more natural light opportunities, but what about long, dark, dreary winter?  I have decided to incorporate lamps into my class for next year.  I'm thinking that I would like at least 10 for my new class next year.  But this is a significant financial commitment!  10 lamps at $10 or more per lamp?!?!  Seriously?  I can think of many more items to get for my class for $100 or more!  Fear not!!  I have a strategy!

Garage sales.

Seriously.  I picked up 4 lamps this past weekend for $20.  I also have a lamp at home that's been sitting in storage that will make a perfect addition to my class as well.  5 lamps for $20?  Ok!
I have to say I'm lucky to live in a community that love-Love-LOVES having garage sales, and I love shopping at them.

I would suggest beginning by making a list of all the great things you want to add to your classroom environment and keep that list on you at all times.  Put it in your purse, wallet, car, or in the back of your phone case (cause I know I can't leave home without that!).  Make sure you have $40 on you in cash for the weekends when the Garage Sale Extravaganzas begin and keep your eyes open!

Have fun!

When it's a Full Moon...

When it is this late in the year, we already know that things are not going to run as smoothly as they once did. It's the nature of the beast. But toss in a full moon, and there's no telling what craziness is going to ensue. I don't know what happens to people, but the effect a full moon has on a human psyche is real.  

Now I'm not sure about werewolves, but strange things start to happen before and during the full moon. Don't fret!  You can access the ultimate tool for your arsenal to help you survive:  Chocolate. 

Stock up, and use as needed!

Kaizena From Google

I was perusing through some on-line articles this evening and I came across information on a very cool program.  It's call Kaizena and you access it through your Google account.  Forgive me if you know about this-I did not.  This program is basically a super cool way to give students feedback on their work.
How many hours have you spent hunched over a stack of assignments, pen in hand thinking to yourself that you have spent an enormous amount of time sitting at your desk that you will never get back?  Well, I dare say that this might actually save time, and you might actually enjoy giving students feedback.  With this program you can add voice memos, and videos as feedback devices for your students.  You can also save your resources so that if you see the same error in several assignments, you can access your resources from the program, and don't need to re-open or return to a different window to do it.  I would imagine that students would be able to use the program themselves in the same way and assess their own work. I am just dying to try this out!
Below is a brief video tutorial for how to use the program.  The tutorial is an example of how you might use it in a secondary setting, but I know it's applicable in elementary and middle years as well.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you would use this program in your own class.  

Keep Calm and Stick to Routine

I feel the buzz at school and I talk to my students about it all the time. When they are starting to disconnect from me I tell them they are like sand in my hands, and they're starting to slip through my fingers.   Then I ask them to come back to me, practice self control, and help me review our chart that tells us what independent learners do. 

As the year starts to come to a close, it can be tempting to relax our daily routines and expectations. Don't do it!  Dig deep for those last few weeks because we all know how it goes: the days can feel so long, then you blink and the week is gone. You might as well make it so that the days that are left are as pleasant as they can be, and the best way to do that is to stay true to all the hard work you've put in with the students to develop, understand and adhere to routines and expectations.  That way, maybe you'll walk out of the door that last day instead of run!  ; )

Where Do Students Keep Their Stuff???

If you have had a chance to look at my previous post, you would see that there aren't enough desks in our room for all of the students that are in the class.  But Ashley, where do the students keep all their stuff????

I know.  That was the first question that arose when I decided to change our space.  

This is a picture facing our Listen to Reading station.  Here, students have access to audiobooks and their companion books.  I have found that many students who are not at a level where they can read chapter books or novels love this station.  They simply track the story in the companion book.   But I digress...

The part I would really love to draw your attention to are the bins you see in front of the table.  At the time, I had 18 students.  I would have loved to allow each student to have their own bin for them personally, but I just couldn't afford it!  So I settled with giving the students a bin buddy, which I decided wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

The smaller bins are used to keep pencils, erasers and pencil crayons.  That is it.  Any extra materials they have are kept in their pencil cases in a drawer they can access easily if they need it.  The larger bins keep their notebooks which have all been labeled according to subject.

The small bins have been numbered 1-27, and the large bins have been marked the same.  But there are only 2 students for every bin.  In other words, there are no students assigned every third number.  I did this in case I had another student come later in the year who would need to be assigned a bin number.  Also, I have a couple students who I wanted to have their own bins, mostly because I knew that they are not the organized type, no matter what I do.  ; )  

When it is time for students to get their materials, one of the bin buddies is responsible for getting books and materials.  They take turns doing this throughout the day, but figure that schedule out themselves.  The bin buddy who does not get the materials is expected to say thank you, and the students hold each other to that.

This is also a great set up for when a student is missing.  Right now I have the bin buddy putting papers right into the books of the missing student.  While this is ok, it's not the most efficient.  In the future I envision doing homework folders, or something of that nature instead, and giving the folders a table where the bin buddy will make a quick note about the class(es) the student missed and what the assignment was.  All papers would just go into the folder.  (That's been in my head a while.  Better make an actual note about it...)

We started out in this new space with the bins set up exactly like this, and it wasn't long before we realized that they could not be so close together.  In fact, one of my students came to me and said, "Um, you know what we should do?  We should move those bins around the room so we aren't so crowded.  It's a little crazy trying to get our stuff."

I told her she was absolutely right, and that I would take a day to think about the best place to put them.  Then she said, "Yeah, probably we should put them here along this wall (as she pointed by the whiteboard at the front of the room), and there by your desk."

So we did.  That recess.  And they sit there still.

Some people have asked me about time.  How long does it take for students to get their materials and sit down.  Really not that long.  For the most part, only half the students are going to the bins to get materials, the other half are already sitting in our Instructional Space at the front of the room.  (You can read more about that space here.)  And since we've spaced the bins out around the room, it actually takes even less time for them to grab their things.  We have also worked hard to learn how to move quickly and efficiently during transitions, but sometimes, a little friendly competition is needed, and nobody wants to be the rotten egg!  I have thought about getting enough bins for every student to have their own, but I'm thinking now that I might have more problems with transitions if I do, not to mention I'd have to use precious space for more bins!  We'll see...

So that's it.  Bins.  I guess that would have bin the short answer.  Sorry.  Couldn't resist.  It's bin a long day.   Ok.  Now I'm done.  

Change is Good

I remember the moment well.  I was attending a conference in Saskatoon.  The Two Sisters were sharing their knowledge about Daily 5, CAFE and the new Math Daily 3.  For the first time in a long time this year I was feeling excited.  The topic at this point in the conference was classroom environment.  We were being shown images of classrooms that were centered around the Daily 5 model.  I was oohing and aahing over them, but I also found myself at a crossroads.  These were exactly the spaces I wanted to develop in my own classroom.  I wanted a reading nook, and a love seat, and rugs, lamps, small tables-I wanted it all!  But how?!  I only had a regular size space.  To do all that, I would need a huge classroom.  Wouldn't I?

Then it happened.  One of The Sisters said,  "Now I know what all of you are thinking.  You're thinking, 'How big is your classroom?!'  But I'm going to tell you that to make this work, we have half as many desks as we do students.".  That was it.  The lightbulb went off and I knew that I was going to be able to transform my classroom environment.   In the week that followed I put in long hours to change the landscape of that space, and the changes that happened in seven days blew me away.

In a previous post, I wrote about how my classroom started out and why a traditional classroom set up didn't work for my students and I.  You can find that post here.  Today, I'm going to share some images of the new classroom environment, and tell you a little bit about how it functions.

This is the closest to a full room view that I was able to get.  If you were able to look at the images from my previous post about our classroom environment, you would know that this is leaps away from the classroom set up that existed previously.  These changes were all made based the Daily 5 classroom model.

This space has been set up with a plan, and we have dubbed the work areas around the room to be Good Fit Spaces.  The table that you see in the foreground of this picture is the "Listen to Reading Station".  Students use the laptop, desktop and a recently added CD player to listen to audio books as they follow along with the companion book.  This allows something very cool to happen; students who may not be at a reading level for chapter books or novels are able to read them and enjoy the story as they are essentially listening to someone else read.  At the end of their reading session, they are asked to recount some of the details from the book they are reading in a binder.  

If you haven't yet, you will soon notice that there are only 10 desks in classroom.  This is not because I only have 10 students.  I have, in fact, 17 students in my class.  I know! The first question that I am asked every time someone new sees this space is "Where do all the students work?".  The answer is that they are allowed to work anywhere they like, and interestingly, only a small handful of students ever choose the desks, even though they are allowed to work there at any time.  The pods were created, for the most part, as a space for me to organize guided groups, and to help students improve on common strategies.

In the middle, right hand side of the picture you will see a small coffee table that I picked up from a local thrift store, and bumped up against the table is a small shelf consisting of three cubes.  The shelves hold materials for word work and classroom books.  The small table is the perfect size for my students to sit at and work.  

The large open space at the front of the class is first and foremost an instructional area.  Ideally it would be defined by a large area rug, but I only had so much time!  When I am teaching, this is where I do it.  Students are asked to sit in that space, close together.  The general rule of thumb is that they should have just enough space for themselves, and almost be touching knees with the person sitting next to them.  In this space, the person they are sitting beside becomes their elbow buddy.  I deliver short lessons, trying to maintain a 10 minute lesson maximum before letting students choose their Good Fit Work Space to practice the skill just introduced.  In the times when we are working as a group in this area (usually for Math using whiteboards), students are allowed to have a bit more space, but in general, they sit and work fairly close together.  Teaching lessons in this space this way has had a profound impact on classroom management.  There have been almost no interruptions to instructional time.  Let me say that again.  There have been almost no interruptions to instructional time.

Recently, a student told me that she preferred the classroom the way it was before.  When I inquired as to why, she said because I didn't notice when people were fooling around as much.  She also said they didn't have to pay attention as much.  I said, "Thank you for your honesty, but I think it's best for our  learning if we keep the room set up the way it is."  Mental fist pump!

I'm sure you have noticed the love seat in the classroom.  That is our designated reading area, although students may choose to work there as well.  The key to this, and any space in the room, is that students have to learn what is a good fit space for them.   I will talk about how to help students find their Good Fit Spot in an upcoming post.

The above picture is the classroom space to the right of the Listen To Reading Station.  The small table behind my desk provides extra space for students to work.  I have significantly downsized the Teacher Shrine area and became more organized and efficient in this process as well.  (To see what it looked like before, check out images from this post.).  It is important to note that students are also allowed to work at my desk from either side.  The table butted up against the wall in front of my desk is at our math station.  Students have access to learning tools and manipulatives that they can use at any time.  The counter on the right side of the image is extra space for students to work, and has become a popular area for them to go when they work independently.  (I think it's because this ledge faces the window, and it's a sunny spot to work.)

This is our classroom space in a nutshell.  These pictures were taken in March, a week after I attended the conference.  (I told you, I drank the Kool-Aid at that conference, and I'm so glad that I never looked back.)  A few more changes have been made to this space since these images were taken and I will share them with you in the future, but overall, the layout of the space has not changed significantly.

I will say that I love this new space.  My students are excelling in it, and I frequently have colleagues come in and sit with me on the couch in the mornings and after school to talk about it.  I can tell that it's the beginning of a wonderful journey that will link environment to student learning, and I am thrilled to finally be doing it.  I have also heard from several other teachers who work with my students that they have also noticed a positive change in them.  They have told me that they are more focused, they are problem solving better and they start working faster and stay working longer.  All these great things from changing our classroom environment!  

Writing Strategies with Morning Message

At the beginning of the year, we religiously completed a morning message.  The students seemed to enjoyed this time, and I noticed that it even helped some of the students come out of their shells. It helped to create a safe place to share ideas, give suggestions and practice speaking in front of each other. 

As the year went on, this routine fizzled out. I take full responsibility for that one. I can't say that, as a general activity, it was really missed by the students. Sure there were a few who asked about it, but the students weren't on my case demanding a Morning Message. 

When I reflect on it though, I have to say that Morning Message holds a lot of value, and in the future, I'm going to make more of an effort to ensure we use it on a regular basis.  This time was spent on more than your basic fill-in-the-blank activity. We covered a lot of ground in 10-15 minutes. 

I was able to model writing for them on a daily basis. When we were learning to write letters, I wrote one to the students every day. It gave me a chance to focus on letter format, appropriate greetings, and I gave examples of different formal endings.  Sometimes the letter was up on the board before they got in, and some days I wrote it in front of them.  We focused on mood and voice. We tried to challenge our vocabulary by using interesting words. 

In general, we talked about spelling and letter sounds. All the time.  We focused a lot of the time on "tricky" words, like when a c makes an s sound, or when gh are silent partners making an i say it's name.  We talked about synonyms and homonyms. We talked verbs, adjectives and nouns. We experimented with punctuation and capitalization. We talked about simple and compound sentences. And then it all just fizzled out like a glass of soda turned flat. 

Why?

To be honest I can't really nail down one reason in particular. I think it has to do with a group of reasons. 

1.  I was writing every day, and some days I felt like "we did this message already". I guess there's a boredom factor. 

2.  I would have preferred to write up the next day's message at the end of the school day, but I'm officially done at 1:50pm, and I didn't always stay until 3:30pm. That left me feeling like I just added another item to the To Do List in the mornings.  

3.  Some days I had major writer's block. That was not fun. 

4.  There was definitely the classic "time factor".  Some days I just felt like there was too much that we had to do, and in those crunch times, Morning Message was the first thing to go. 

Off the top of my head, I guess those would be some of the hurdles for me. But as I look at them now, I see that there are some places where I can make changes. 

1.  Boredom. My students didn't show they were bored, and never commented how the messages seemed the same so I guess, suck it up lady!

2.  Time table. That's one I can't change. Let it go. 

3.  Writer's block. I could have some pre-prepped pieces ready to go. I could also have students write the morning message. 

4.  Time. Let's get real. Sometimes it's out of my hands. There are definitely those days, or even weeks, where time flies out the window and there are never enough hours in the day and you're doing whatever you can to stay afloat. It might be certain points throughout the year that affect educators in general (finals and exam times, report cards and activities happening in school for example), but sometimes your personal life takes the front seat and that's a different kind of crazy for everyone and is simply unpredictable.  However...

Sometimes, the "no time" thing, is definitely my fault. I can be a procrastinator.  Usually it's small responsibilities that stack up and eventually take over my desk and my life. If I would have just dealt with them for 5 minutes, it would have been done. But I have to admit that I tend to think like this, "It's only 5 minutes, I'll do it tomorrow".  Before I know it I have a list of 5 minute items to contend with, and suddenly I have a project. (I never seem to learn...).  The lesson here is that I need to ditch the procrastinator in me. She's no help anyway. 

When I weigh the pros and cons, I see how valuable Morning Message is.  It's a great opportunity to have mini lessons around writing conventions, sentence fluency, voice, ideas, organization and word choice. I get to spend about 15 minutes a day doing focused lessons for writing, and that is definitely time well spent. 

I Have a Dream

I have a dream that my classroom reflects the ideas that I have about teaching and learning.  It accommodates many different learning styles, encourages collaboration between students, and allows me to moves seamlessly among them to guide them on their individual learning paths.  My dream begins with a classroom that is comfortable.  It is inviting.  It doesn't look like this...

There are probably many of you who are looking at this picture and saying, "But Ashley, there isn't really anything wrong with this.  I have seen many classrooms like this."  

This is my Grade 4 classroom in March of this year (2014-2015).  I can only say that I never felt completely comfortable in it.  I'm about to walk you through this space and tell why this does not work for me, and more importantly, why it doesn't work for my students.  

Desks and Desk Arrangement.

I entered into this space at the beginning of every day, and the first thing I saw without fail was books or pencils or papers or scissors or garbage or shoes or erasers sitting on the tops of the desks, and I became instantly annoyed.  Not a great way to start the day.

Every student had a desk where they were responsible for keeping their materials.  The thing about a desk is that students have everything they need right at their fingertips, and in theory, it is a very good thing.  In reality, it's a nightmare because they have everything at their fingertips.  I would frequently lose instructional time because of problems with classroom management relating to desks.  Students would have their hands in their desks, or would be fiddling with something on the top of their desks, or they would be distracted by each other.    

Pods can be great.  I love giving students the opportunity to work together so they can learn and teach each other.  The thing about pods is...students sit in segregated groups spread around the classroom, and it can be very difficult to monitor all of the students and keep them focused during instructional time.  As a result, I was forever trying to strike a balance between effective instruction and the perfect pod group for all students (which doesn't exist by the way).  My favorite phrase quickly became, "Ok Grade 4, I need everyone to practice self-control".  

The alternative I had to pods was desks in rows, which I hated and my students hated, and which all but stifled any collaboration between them.  As a result, I opted for pods.  It was the lesser of two evils for me.

One Environment Does NOT Fit All

When you look at the picture above, you can tell this is a homogeneous environment.  There is a desk for every student to sit and work in.  Knowing this, I would often find myself wondering why one student or another was always out of his or her desk.  While there were some students more than others up and out of their desks, all of my students did it at one time or another.  My spidey senses would tingle because I knew that this environment was not conducive to what my students needed.   The classroom needed to be more dynamic, but how?

The Organization Illusion

You would think that, if every student had a desk, and every student had a locker that keeping a classroom organized would be easy.  Well think again.  Part of the problem is that desks are very hard to keep organized.  Those little people have a lot of materials to cram into that little space, and if they are not explicitly taught how to keep it clean, it is likely they will not be able to.  I can't count the number of times that I thought my own desk was not big enough, so I can empathize with my students here.  This brings me to the next issue...

The Teacher Shrine

I love that term.  I heard it at a conference I attended this year led by The Two Sisters.  It's hilarious because it's true.  I consider myself a very organized person.  I like to have a clean, clear, well ordered space, but you'd never know it by looking at this picture...

If you can, look past that student desk that is giving me an instant migraine just by looking at it, to my area behind.  Just look at all that space designated just for me!!  It's embarrassing.  As one of my nearest and dearest goals is to create a student-centered space, I think it's safe to say that I was moving in the completely wrong direction in achieving that environment.

I'd also like to say that the cabinet behind my desk is full of "stuff", and almost none of it was useful to me.  The only items I kept in there that I used frequently were my scarf and mittens.  What a missed opportunity for organization!  Some of the "stuff" was mine, most of it was not.  Looking back it would have been prudent to clean it up, and put in all those binders and teacher resources I had sitting on the counter to the left of that cupboard.  I guess hindsight is 20/20.

Colors in the Classroom

As you can see, I covered the bulletin boards with basically every color in the rainbow.  Oh boy.  Here's the thing about this: I know better.  I know about color.  I think most people do.  There is a reason that schools are painted that ghastly eggshell color.  While it's nobody's favorite, I believe it does serve a purpose, and that is to ensure that the space for learning is not overstimulating to students.  Thankfully, there has been learning in this area and we've found out that natural, neutral colors have the same affect as "eggshell".  Alleluia! 

Again, here I am doing the exact opposite of what I know to be true.  I know that pink, and lime green backgrounds, used with orange and white chevron boarders (I know, even I couldn't look at it for long), are not the best use of color to create an environment that encourages calm and collected independent learners.

The good news here is that in order to do better, I had to start somewhere.  In my next post, I will share the transformation of this space, and trust me, there's a difference.

Never too late...

This is my very first post on my new blog dedicated to learning, teaching, and learning as a teacher.

I have chosen this title ironically for a couple of reasons:
1.  We are fast approaching the "end of the school year", and it seems a little silly to start a blog about learning and teaching so close to the end.  In doing this I am either incredibly early, or incredibly "late".

2.  It's 12:30 in the morning.  Again, early or "late", depending on your perspective.

I hope that you are patient as you wait for me to make this new project something special, however, I will be adding new material immediately (immediately after a 5-7 hour sleep, depending on when I actually get to bed and when my nearly-two-year-old decides its time to wake up in the day).

I hope you find and use this blog as a tool for your own personal growth, and for the learning of your students.