Set Your Mind to Something....and DO IT!

 

Lancaster in the mornings is a quiet town.  It's my favorite time to roam the streets of town.  In the hours just as the sun rises, it's extremely quiet.  As we run from our house at the southern edge of town to the opposite side where City Limits Road marks a northern border, Kate and I can often count less than 6 cars that go by us during the mile and a half trek.  The sound of a tiny squirrel running up a tree can startle us. I love this quiet time.

  I think my love for this quiet running time is also connected to my love of reading and writing.  These things are done perfectly in quiet.  That isn't to say that I don't love conversation and a little noise too.  I do.  I love the time in my classroom when students are sharing ideas out loud or discussing what they've read.  I love sharing my writing and what I'm reading too - that's why I have this blog 😉😉  But it's about the balance of doing the things that you need to do to be successful.

  This year has been different but it cannot be a year with no goals or hard work.  Even with no races I am continuting to work hard with my running (Thank you, Kaiti, for keepingn me going :-)) 

When my students enter my classroom next week I want to be able to inspire them.  If I am not working toward goals and doing something to better myself, how can I expect them to set a goal and work toward it?  

I hope that the kids who come into my classroom (and those who have already passed through it) know that I care about them and want them to set their mind to something BIG and DO IT!

Go do great things today!

Planning Ahead

I am a 5th Grade ELA teacher.  I am completing my 21st year of teaching. One might think that those years of experience would have me comfortable or possibly even complacent. That is not the case for me EVER. I am always a learner.

  As the world is in a national crisis, I need to find ways to engage my students differently.  We have just completed 7 weeks of distance learning that we never anticipated nor were prepared for.  My days are LONG and full.  I need to find the key to activating the brains of 5th graders when they aren’t physically in front of me.  I want to help them see the sense and relevancy of what we are continuing to do.  I want to spark THEIR curiosity. I love that this distance learning setting gives my students (and me) the opportunity to embrace trial and error.  It also gives all of us time to practice reflection.

When May hits, our school will be doing the majority of our teaching from Google Classroom. The last time I actually had a class in Google Classroom was 2015....Yep. I used to do it and then I quit doing it. I have been working hard this week to learn all that I can about the best ways to videotape my lessons and create activities for Google Classroom. I have some super fun ideas in mind....Now I just need to use the time this weekend to put it all into place while at the same time completely packing up my classroom and moving it's entire contents to the library. These are the times when I am super thankful to be in the town where I live and to have the help of my family.

Here is my challenge to you this weekend:

-Do something to make your heart happy.

-Learn something new.

-Spend time reflecting.

And just for fun you are welcome to enjoy this wordless story that I shared with my students this week as we learned about inferences:

#headupheartout

Works for me Wednesday

Can you believe that this is the 2nd installment of this little fe
ature?  In an effort to stick with my 3 things alliteration the last time, I am going to go with things that are working for me this week that start with Rs.

Running is working for me:
   Ran 10 miles on Monday and 5 miles this morning.  Monday's run resulted in a little rough up skin...  No biggie but I am thankful that it hasn't happened before.  4 am runs are pretty dark and I guess I need to be able to see the sidewalks a little bit better.

Reading is working for me:
  I've had some time to read some picture books, some novels, and some professional texts (including the new Instructor Magazine that came in the mail last week).  I always love the evenings when I can sit and read without interruption even if it is for just 15 minutes.  I love all those quiet reading moments.  I love getting time before I leave for summer school to sit and read the newspaper, too.

Relationships are working for me:
  The Winskill Mystery Trip gave me a chance to visit with my new co-workers.  Great time.
  I attended the CESA 3 Mentor Day with my mentor on Friday.  It was so enjoyable to visit with her and get to know more about her.  We have so much in common and I'm excited to work with her.
  The 4th grade team met on Tuesday to plan things.  I am so excited to work with this grade level team.  We really are going to be FABULOUS and FEARLESS!

After I had written this little reflection with Rs, I also thought of some things I wanted to add in here as REFLECTION....(I was stretching a little to make it fit with R).
  I have really enjoyed team teaching the enrichment portions of summer school.  I have learned so much from my co-teacher and from the students.  These last few days I have been with the IPAD/Technology class.  We worked with some fun creative apps (Lego Movie Maker and VideoStar were 2 favorites on the IPADS).  On Monday we introduced Voki.com to both the 3-5 group and the PreK-2 group and one reflection I  had after all was said and done was how creative the younger group was.  They weren't afraid to get creative with what their voki said.  They were much more willing to take risks than the older kids.
  On Tuesday I got to learn 2 new computer pieces:  Build Your Wild Self  and Tumblebooks.  I love seeing the creating that happens when technology is available.  These summer school classes have been so much fun because I have been able to be a learner as much as a teacher.

What's working for you on this wonderful Wednesday?

Works for Me Wednesday

I decided that with my new blog I would also start some Weekly Topics.  Wednesday will be What Works for Me Wednesdays. Today's Works for Me Wednesday is about what works for me in finding balance.  I'm hoping that this school year will show signs of great balance as I have less of a commute.  I'm looking forward to all the ways that I can SHARE my passion.  Want to know what's been working in our summer school classroom so far?

1.  Confidence works for me

   I love confident kids.  I'm seeing lots of that in my classroom and I love it!  I wonder what the 4th graders will think when they find out the real secret to the Magic Number Wheel!

















2.  Curiosity works for me

  One of the Enrichment Classes that I am helping with is Adventureland.  The curiosity and the way that the kids are stepping up to the challenges are so exciting.

3.  Compassion works for me

  The kindness that I see from the students is so authentic and that's what I LOVE!  I also appreciate the compassion that has been shown for me as I don't always know "the routine."  I saw compassion from the kids when I forgot to give them their nametags today.  Nobody got upset---thankfully.  My day was MADE by the compassion shown by a student who gives her all and gave above and beyond with a kind note and a gift today.


Things are working for me this week and my passions continue to grow.  Thanks for being along for the journey.

Shine On!