Back to School---Finally!

So every year I read a little from Harry Wong's The First Days of School.  When I read fictional books I always start at the last two pages and then back to the beginning.  Weird, right?  When I read informational texts I always start at the contents and beginning of the book.  I guess that's why I have never made it to the last chapter of this book.  This year I just happened to open it to page 290.  It classifies teachers into three categories...protective people, maintenance people, and enhancement people.  Long definition short:

       1.  Protective people:  form groups (that they deny) and sit in the back of    meetings complaining.
       2.  Maintenance people:  form cliques (that they do no recognize) and always seek sympathy for just making it through the day.
       3.  Enhancement people:  form groups (that they acknowledge and usually give a name to, support group, etc) who contribute to the quality of their own life and organization.

How fitting is this for the start of our new school year with all of the changes???  After reading this I am so glad to be able to say the I am an enhancement person...always trying to learn new things and make changes for the betterment of student success.

I hope if you have this book, you take it out and see how you are going to impact your school this year.  80% will be protective and maintenance while only 20% of staff will be enhancement.

Getting excited...only a few more days until back to school!

Don't get me wrong...I have really enjoyed my break.  BUT I am also very excited to get back to school.  Way too expensive to be off having this much fun!
                    Summer Bucket List:
                    Vacation with hubby--Lake Michigan, Chicago, and Red Bud
                    Branson with Emili--lots of shopping and of course, Dixie Stampede
                    Evening out on the pontoon at Blue Springs Lake
                    Pool party at a dear friends with lots of other friends
                    Cookout with awesome co-workers
                    Sleeping in...believe it or not!
                    Collaborating with my best friend
                    Collaborating with my teaching partner
                    Painting my daughter's room (finally!!)

Mardel's shopping was a blast with all my teacher friends.  For the first time ever I spent less than everyone else.  Whoo-hoo :)  Got a few wanted (not needed) items for my room.  It was nice just browsing and looking for wants instead of needs.

Got my Back to School Ideas board on Pinterest.  75 new ideas to incorporate for the new year.  I am really excited about focusing on reading, writing, and social studies.  Also excited for our Data Teams next year.  I see the opportunity for so much growth this coming year.  Lots of change, but change is good :)

Summer school is coming to an end (boo-hoo)

We have so much fun in summer school that it is hard to say what we liked best.  So I will mention the top 5.

1.  Departmentalizing and grouping of students--not only did we (teachers) like this but when we ask the kids what their favorite activity this summer was they said GROUPS!  Amazing.  Glad to hear that because this was trial and error for next year.  I think we are set now.

2.  Walking field trip to Mugs Up Rootbeer--the kids brought in loose change and used it as part of their math lesson (identifying coins for the younger kiddos and counting coins in the upper grades).  The students used the menu to decide what they would order for lunch and then had to count out their money to pay for it, adding tax and tip of course :)  We walked to Mugs Up, spread out our table clothes on the ground, and had a picnic.  It was a blast.

3.  Studying about the rainforest and creating a painted mural.  Just got them laminated so each student has a 4 foot long poster that they can hang in their room.

4.  Studying about the ocean.  Learn something new everyday :)

5.  Working with the best staff and students in the whole world.  Such a great team!!!

Looking forward to vacation at Branson, Michigan City, and Chicago.  Lots of work during the summer, but always time to play.

Never too early to start planning...for next school year :)

It's taken me a year, but I finally found the book bin labels that I think suit my needs the best.  Thank you to Super Teacher Tactics.  The easy part was printing and laminating.  Now to start sorting all of my books.  So far I have brought home most of my books to work on during summer break, but the more I look around my room at summer school the more I realize I have books in every corner, on every shelf, and in every drawer and bin!  It's going to be a job, but well worth it when I get done.

Departmentalizing this summer has been super!  I love switching kids and working on two major subject areas.  After working for hours on our schedule for next year (and realizing that we need to add 2 hours to the school day to get every subject in with time for recess, lunch, and specials) it is finally done and I am happy about our grouping.  Hope my partner is :)  We have also really liked linking all of our groups and core subjects to one common theme.  Next on the agenda is finalizing a calendar with themes for the year that tie in common core.

I have also made my wish list on Amazon...$400.00--not as bad as I thought it would be.

I am off to plan a layout for next year...custodians want a map to put furniture back after the floor is done.  Don't they know it takes me months to create that?!?!?!

Summer School's a Blast!

Well, the first three days of summer school have passed.  Now 17 more to go.  We tried our departmentalization and grouping of kids and it has been great!  We divided our 15 kiddos into 3 groups (using a certified para for group 3) and each are teaching a different subject.  I thought I was going to really struggle giving up Math and Science, but I think I have done pretty good.  Reading, Writing, and Social Studies will fall on my shoulders.  Sure beats planning for 5 subjects and differentiating each one.  Now I only focus on 3 subjects, which are easily intertwined, and my groups are more evenly distributed.

Grouping of Kiddos
This is where you have to be flexible.  We service students ranging from K-5th grade.  Even if they are in a certain grade doesn't mean they are performing at that grade level.  It's hard to ask them to do something when they haven't mastered the skills needed to do it.  (And asking high fliers to "wait" for others to finish tasks easily completed by them even when completing differentiated work covering the same skill)  We have had to move students around and regroup them during the first three days, but they have been troupers and I think we have finalized our groups.  Group 1 is mainly K-2, Group 2 is mainly 2-4, and Group 3 is mainly 3-5.  Each group has no more than 6 kiddos in it.  Very manageable.  Beats K-2 with 8 kiddos and 3-5 with 7 kiddos and a whole range of abilities.  For students struggling with behavioral challenges I think this is a fantastic way to meet their individual needs.

Scheduling and Rotating
At first I thought it was going to hard to have them rotating from one classroom to the next, but I think the definite break in each subject and movement has helped them.  They see a beginning and end to each subject and movement breaks are just what they need.  I have only heard positive comments from them about moving classrooms.  Summer school schedule is a little easier to manage because lunch is more flexible and we don't have to accommodate specials classes.  Hopefully we can make the regular school year just as smooth.

Just on a side note...I got this fantastic idea from a very dear friend from another district who uses this in her alternative setting. :)

So much to do...so little time...

We have made it to the last week of school.  Where did all the time go?  This year has flown by.  For me, I think partly because of how much the dynamics of my class has changed over the last year.  At the beginning of the year I had one 1st grader and four 3rd graders.  Now I have five Kindergartners, one first grader, and one second grader.  That makes the year fly by when you are constantly changing academic gears.
Some probably question how much I change my room over the course of the year, especially since I preach about consistency, organization, structure, and routine.  BUT that generally is the thought when you start and end with the same group of students each year.  However, you have to be flexible in knowing that if you are in a transient building different sets of students have different needs.  What works for one class may not work for another.  Our basic structure and routine has stayed consistent through the year, but some of the environment has changed a little.

Things that should stay the same:

• Routine for lining up
• Raising your hand to talk
• General classroom expectation
• Hallway expectations
• Classroom/Lunchroom manners (this is a biggie for my little guys--and yes I am talking burping and farting)
• Entering the cafeteria and getting our trays
• Location of classroom meetings/mini-lessons
• Classroom Theme (mine was Cooking Up a Great Year)

Things that may need to change:

• Line order
• Seating arrangements
• Location of supplies and materials (our writing center was a big hit when we changed to the lower grades--needed more space and materials)
• Workshop partners
• Location of centers
• Seating options (especially for ADHD kiddos) during classroom meetings/mini-lessons
• I have carpet squares, bucket seats with bumpy seats on top of some and cushions of top of others, and a long wood bench--choice is always good
• Classroom colors (I stuck with Cooking theme, but toned the red down with blue towards the end to see if that helped with talking and noise levels in the room---and I think it did)  
• I did a lot of research on classroom colors and think I will stick with the pale blue, green, and pale yellows from now on.  Thought I wanted to try something bold, but I really did know better :)

With all of this in mind--I am so excited that we have 20 days of extended school year (summer school) to catch up on some of the skills I feel we need more work on.  And to top it off, I get to focus on Reading/Writing only this summer!  Yippee!!  

Planning Ahead

As the end of the year is fast approaching, can't help but to think about next year.

• Theme for next year:  Country Western 
• Classroom arrangement:  Just how it is now (It took me nine months to find a layout that works well for all students)
• Departmentalization:  I am going to teach Reading, Writing, and Social Studies to both classes and my partner is teaching Math and Science (I have 3 months to minimize anxiety of letting go "control" over math, but I can do it!)
• De-cluttering a few more areas of the room (giving away items to new teachers or packing it in storage until I think I need it or find someone who does)
• Pinterest Projects (too numerous to mention one by one, but will definitely post pics as projects are completed)

School wide changes are being made too!  I am super excited about the possibilities we are going to have to make significant changes to all students grades K-5.  We are meeting this week to discuss the possibility of grouping students based on performance, small group instruction, and other individual needs that can be met by Title 1 reading intervention and Special Education support in the classroom instead of pulling out.  I personally think students are pulled out too much and creates a bigger gap than if they didn't receive intervention services.  Can't wait to see how are meeting goes and who is on board with change--we have a chance to make some monumental changes with full support of the principal and district!

Here are some pictures of my favorite projects, organization, management, and centers from this year!

Self Inking Stamps from Vista Print

Behavior Bingo
Names are randomly placed on board.  At the end of each lesson a name is drawn and if that person followed classroom expectations they placed a mark on the board.  5 in row wins a Lego Party, Paint Party, or Free Prize of Classroom Store

Small group table with bucket seats.  The kiddos love bucket seats and I now have a total of 9 in my room.

I purchased this off of Craigslist and it was missing the legs.  I used storage bins for the legs and now have extra storage for small group lessons and projects.

Writing Center
The kiddos absolutely love this part of the classroom.  Imaginations run wild!!

Teacher Desk
I finally got rid of my metal desk and replaced it with a small table to work one on one with students when needed.
It also gives me plenty of room to work when completing paperwork while working on the computer.

Student Desk Area
We now have a blue team and red team.  Part of my country western color theme for next year.

Red Team

Bench with storage underneath.  The students love this alternative seating during mini lessons.

What a fabulous year!  Cannot wait for next year!