JOY IN LEARNING

Sometimes teachers get so busy with endless testing that we miss the joy of teaching, the joy in learning!  This past weekend, my family and I took a family fun/educational weekend trip to Houston, Texas.  It was so exciting to learn new things, not only for my own children, but it will also benefit my students!

We were able to visit NASA's Space Center.  Inside the Space Center are some fabulous exhibits about space and space exploration.  We also took a tram tour to the Johnson Space Center across the street. Because it was the weekend and there were no active missions that day, we were allowed to visit the gallery above the Mission Control Center!  There was another Mission Control Center nearby monitoring the International Space Station, so we did get to view some of that via monitors.  It was fascinating!  

Thinking about my students, and our upcoming Space Unit, I went a little crazy at NASA's gift shop.

We also visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  What an incredible place!  My own children loved the Dinosaur Exhibit and the Egyptian Exhibit.  Fun fact:  When you see a dinosaur skeleton on display at a museum, you can tell if it's real or a replica by looking at the metal.  If the metal poles go through the bones, it is a replica.  If the metal is bracing the bones, it is real!  I did not know that!

I also found a Lakeshore Learning Store nearby and went in person!  It was so much more fun than just looking through their catalog!

Lastly, this was my fortune at dinner one evening.  Well said! 

I am excited to get back to my students and use my newfound knowledge, as I remember that it's not all about the tests.  There needs to be joy in learning!  

RULE # 1 and RULE # 2

Ever since my first year of teaching, I have followed two rules faithfully:

Rule # 1:  Never leave the classroom for the day until the next day's lessons/materials are ready.  

A college professor instilled this idea in me by explaining that you don't really know what's going to happen in life.  You could get sick, get in a car accident, etc...  A substitute teacher should be able to walk in, see your lesson pile, and teach the students in your absence without worry.

So I leave everything for the next day in a neat stack on my desk, in order, of course, with a clipboard on top with the daily schedule. (The rest of my desk may not be very neat right now, but the next day's lesson pile always is!)

Rule # 2:  Never leave on Friday until the next week's copies/materials are ready.

I have used stacking bins with the days of the week written on them for many years.  Everything goes into the bin that I might need: copies, supplies, manuals, etc.  Having everything ready for the week makes Rule #1 so much easier!

But this year, I just can't seem to keep up with Rule #2!  Instead of planning by the week, I've only been able to plan a day or two at a time. It's been crazy!  I have a new Math Curriculum and a new Science Curriculum this year, which take longer to plan for because they are not familiar yet.  Also, I have been spending more time with family in the evenings and weekends, rather than planning as much at home as I usually do. (But that is a good thing!)  I think I need to take a day off from school to work on school planning and prepping!  Lol! 

I know I will catch up eventually, but we're heading into the 8th week of school and this is so unusual for me!  Since my school is making SMART goals, maybe "I will start following Rule #2 by Thanksgiving Break." would be a good one. Let's hope it doesn't take that long though!

MONDAY MUSINGS: COPS!

During recess today, a Police Officer came by my school. As he approached, all of my students RAN in the opposite direction. Shocked, I asked them why they were running away (the Police Officer was on the other side of the fence).  Their response was something like "It's a cop!"  I recognized the Officer and went over to greet him. My students followed to see what was going on. I introduced him as my friend and sent them back to play.  He had just answered a call in the neighborhood, saw me at recess, and stopped to say hello.

Afterwards, I explained to my students that the Officer used to help me in my classroom before he became a Police Officer.  (He had been my Special Education Assistant before joining the Police Department.)  Not only did that surprise them, but one boy was just incredulous, "You're friends with a Cop?" While it seems a bit funny, it made me realize that my students only see Police Officers in a negative light due to their environment. Most of my students come from low-income families and have been exposed to crime at such a young age. Several students have parents currently in jail.  As I thought about this, I realized that the only "good cop" they see is the one who visits on career day.  Those officers share info about their jobs, but don't have time to interact personally with the students.

I usually don't teach "Community Helpers" in 3rd grade (that was a big  Social Studies unit when I taught 1st grade!). Maybe my students need a fresh look at Police Officers so they will understand that they are the "good guys" and will help them.   My Police Officer friend loves children!  Maybe I can talk him into visiting my classroom to read a book aloud so my students can see first hand that Police Officers are there to protect and serve, not to be feared.


*Cute Police Graphic from http://www.mycutegraphics.com/*

SMART GOALS

My school is adopting S.M.A.R.T. Goals this year.  Students and staff alike are creating personal and whole group goals that are :

Specific            

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic

Time-bound

Creating classroom goals is not new for us.  Due to the fact that I teach mainly Math and Science, I centered our goals around Math this year:

90% of all students will be at Level 4.0 or higher in Moby Math by the end of April 2015.

 

90% of all students will master their Multiplication Facts from 0-10 by the end of April 2015.

(3rd graders in Texas take the state test at the end of April, so that's why the due date is before the end of the school year.)

This year we are implementing personal SMART goals as well.  My students did a wonderful job setting a one-week goal for themselves.  Many of them chose to set their goal around our Accelerated Reader Program.  "I will read 2 AR books this week and pass with an 80% or 100%"  Others set their goal to align with one of our class goals, "I will complete 4 Moby Max Math sessions this week." or "I will master my multiplication x2 facts this week."  

Our entire school set goals this week, so some wonderful teachers created a space in the hallway to hang the goals.  Once the goals were completed, the students placed a sticker on their 3x5 card.  Next week each student will create a new goal and staple it over the completed goal.  Eventually we will create one month goals instead of just weekly goals.

I set a few goals for myself as well.  Realistically, every teacher sets goals for themselves when creating a To-Do list, but by making it into a SMART goal, I knew I would have to make it a priority, rather than just another thing on my To-Do list to get to whenever I had the extra time.

I still had two students left to test with the Fountas and Pinnell Reading Benchmark Assessment, and had been putting it off.  So, that was perfect for my first SMART goal.  It was accomplished by Tuesday afternoon!  I had a secondary goal about using my Planning Time wisely, and I can say that most days I was successful!  

Overall, SMART Goals were very successful this week!  I'm looking forward to next week.  It will be interesting to see what the students choose for their new goals.  And I need to come up with a good one for myself too.  I can't expect to use my Planning Time wisely EVERY DAY, as there are always friends/co-workers to chat with!

Have a good week!