Countdown to In-Service

I've been into my classroom several times, and one of the things I did this year (based on some amazing blogs I've read) is change the seating arrangement.  Kids traditionally have a desk with their own space, and I've been against that since my first year teaching (when I had to "help" the kids clean them out -- yuck!!), and I've always been a tables-teacher.  Kids have an assigned seat and they work together in table groups, earn table points, have a table captain, you name it.  This year, I've changed it around.  I'm going to have assigned seating for the first couple weeks so we can all get to know each other's names.  Then kids will be able to choose where to sit based on their needs.  So far, I've used this with sitting on the floor or at their desks, now I will be introducing (dun dun DUN) standing and kneeling/cross-legged.  I should have taken pictures when I was in my room today, so I'll try to remember when I go in again.  Come to think of it, I had both of my sons in today and the pictures would have either been of rubber bands and geoboards EVERYWHERE or me screaming like a lunatic for them to clean up.  Not pretty.  Anyhoo, as I was saying, the work spaces have changed, with 4 main tables for 6 kids at each (I know, I know, a lot!) and one standing counter for 2 or 3 kids, one sitting/kneeling table for 4 kids, a separate small group work space for 4 or more kids, and the carpet and reading area for sitting and using a clipboard or just reading.  I'm pretty excited about this change in my thinking, and I hope the kids respond well.  I really hope they respond well since I took the legs off of one table and got rid of one completely....!

Something else I'm excited about is the new Notice and Note for nonfiction -- the fiction version is so amazing, so life-changing, so inspiring!  (I don't know if I said before, but I wrote a review on Amazon and KYLENE BEERS - the author - responded!  WHAT???)  I pre-ordered using a couple of gift cards from my wonderful students at the end of the year, and all I can say is, come on October release date!  I'm also excited about my third and final class I took this summer that used the text "Never work harder than your students" and it was really good!  It was all about tips and tricks that "master" teachers use that basically anyone can do, it was like a guide to working smarter, not harder.  I really enjoyed chapter 7, which was about the principal named in the title, and it also talked about our jobs in the classroom.  Many teachers try to find a balance, or do too much or too little.  The author explains that a balance isn't necessary, but having correct roles that everyone understand and agrees upon is.  Wow!  There was some amazing talk about thinking for kids and controlling their behavior -- things I agree with, namely that you can't do either, and I'd love to show this passage to adults that work in my room to show them that my expectations are for the students to do the work and behave properly, and that logical consequences will be enough for them instead of the adults feeling guilty for kids' behavior.  (This is NOT how I feel about my own children, of course!!!! Ha ha!)

Well, anyway, it's been some fun and busy weeks, with trips to the pool, camping trips, and prep for school all mixed in.  I hope I don't fall off the face of the planet as things get crazier, but please forgive me if I do.  I'd like to keep you posted on some of the new things I'm trying this year, so maybe I'll at least manage to post some pictures.  In these last few days of summer, what else should I be thinking about?  Suggestions below!

Back to school ready in July!

Long time no blog!

I'm working furiously this summer getting ready for another wonderful year with my third graders!  Here's what's on my plate right now:

• Daily 5 - Second edition!
• CRAFT (instead of CAFE)
• PALS Reading
• PALS Math
• The new Everyday Math

I'm taking a few classes this summer, one is the new Daily 5, another is a short class on CAFE, (finished them both already!) and the last class I'm currently taking uses the book Never Work Harder than Your Students by Dr. Robyn Jackson.  It's making me think a lot about how to do all the work in less time, and that's my motto for the coming school year:

Be efficient, be thorough.

Why?  Well, for a few reasons: 1. I spend too much time at school and my kids are getting older and starting sports, I need to be there for them!  2. We are working on a data cycle this year, and I want to make sure I'm putting the necessary time into properly assessing and intervening, and I have to have my ducks in a row for that.  3. I want to synthesize several reading books I've read into a curriculum that works for me and is rigorous and pushes kids.  Those books are Daily 5 (second edition), CAFE (with CRAFT modification), Notice and Note, Reading with Meaning (I see now there's a second edition available!  Goody!), Making the Most of Small Groups, Practice with Purpose, and (eventually) Literature Circles.  I know this seems like a lot, but it's all stuff I either do or half-do, and I want it to be deliberate and less haphazard.

I'm going to also (you won't believe this) start doing MINDFULNESS in my classroom!  I went to a conference in June and it was so good, we practiced mindfulness for our own good, and talked about how important it is for kids' brains.  I'm sold!  So I'm going to try and take a course this year to help me practice it in my classroom, and hopefully a few other teachers from my school/district will go so we can be a small community to support each other.  I'm most excited about how this will help me be a better teacher by being a better person!

My next few posts will be about the process I'm going through to implement all this.  Remember, it's a lot:

1. Reading curriculum
2. Math curriculum
3. Data cycles with PALS intervention in both
4. Mindfulness

Last, but not least, I recently got the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo.  I had heard it was good, but that's such an understatement for a person like me!  Having lived in Japan and married a Japanese man (tidy, loves to declutter) this is a great book for me.  In addition, people I work with and love dearly are tidy declutterers and I always look at their classrooms in envy.  Now I've started decluttering at home and I'm excited about how this will work in my classroom and how to teach my students to be tidy -- not just how to throw stuff away, but how to really organize based on "KonMari"s principles.  (Let me just brag for a second: I threw away 3 large bags of clothing that didn't spark joy, and managed to fit ALL of my remaining clothing into one dresser and a few bins, plus a few jackets and aprons hung up -- that's it!  And I got two big bags of stuff from the bathroom, like lotion, cleaners, old stuff I've had "organized" in bins for years that were moved from house to house.  No more!  The bathroom cabinet is CLEAN!  Okay, I'm done.  For now.)

Thanks for tuning in!