Making the Next Three Weeks Count

It's that time of year again, magic is in the air!  All our students can think about is Christmas!  And, quite frankly, that's about all I can think about, too! Even before Pinterest was the twinkle in some crafty person's eye, teachers had tons and tons of hand-made items for our students to assemble out of construction paper, googly eyes and more Elmer's glue than the school supply bin at Wal-Mart in August.  We have all kinds of great things our kids could dump glitter and sparkles on!  And while it's tempting to tell ourselves our kids won't remember anything we teach them now anyway, we do need to keep teaching--and here are a few reminds why.

1) Every day is one more opportunity to prepare our kiddos for life.
Like most teachers who have students in grade-levels that will be taking state assessments this year, I am constantly thinking about preparing my 3rd Grade reading students for STAAR, the "big test" in Texas.  And while I'm not positive the students I see once or twice a week will retain much of what I teach them about comprehension and decoding these next few sessions, I do have the opportunity to teach them a few life lessons, like persistence, responsibility, focus, oh, and time management.  It would be really great if we could all just sink into a holiday coma for a few weeks but, just like each of us, our students still have work to do.  We need to teach them that the normal responsibilities we have each day don't freeze in time just because a major holiday is coming up.  Most of the world doesn't get a two week holiday like we do, in fact, a lot of people only get one day (if that!) so we need to keep working, too!  But, we can play some Christmas music in the background, just to change it up a bit! ;0)
2) Christmas literature is WONDERFUL! We can continue to build life-long readers through great holiday stories.
There are so many amazing Christmas books (assuming you still work in a school district that lets you read them, like I do!) that incorporate great comprehension skills.  One of my favorites is Harvey Slumfenburger's Christmas Present by John Burningham.  It's sort of similar to Arthur Christmas, in that one present doesn't get delivered but it is a great writing prompt because we never find out what the present was!  What a great way to teach students about predictions and give them an opportunity to write.  I also love Auntie Claus by Elise Primevera.  Every year I find someone to co-teach it with.  It's a great story full of mystery where students can infer Auntie Claus's true identity.  It's also a great read-aloud because it lends itself so nicely to awesome character voices.  If you haven't read these two books, check them out.  I think you and your students will really enjoy them.
3) "Magic" can be incorporated into all subjects!
Do you remember what it was like to be a child those few weeks leading up to Christmas?  I certainly do.  Everyday seemed to last a week!  My parents always tried to make each day count with something special and magical, like making cookies or going caroling.   We have the opportunity to spread some of that magic and cheer into our lessons as well.  Teach a science experiment that has to do with winter, or freezing, or whatever you can come up with to incorporate what's going on in "the real world" into your curriculum without stepping away from the core content too much.  Do some Elf math problems!  If Santa needs to get 60 presents to Toronto in 2 hours, how fast will he have to go and how big will his sleigh need to be if the area of each present is 2.5 feet? Let your kids write their own Christmas themed math problems! If you are lucky enough to put up a class Christmas tree, forget the stand and see what your kids can come up with as a solution.  Give some geographical clues about where Santa is headed and see if the kids can come up with the town, state, country or continent.  There are a lot of ways to spread the Christmas magic into every content area with a little bit of planning, you just have to remember what it's like to be a kid at Christmas!
4) All that sparkles isn't covered in glitter!
I absolutely love it when my daughters make me an ornament, especially if it has their handprint or footprint on it.  I definitely think that students need time during the holiday season to be creative and make something special for their families. That being said, I also love it when my first grader brings home a story she wrote about our family, even more so if it is illustrated!  I love it when her teacher emails pictures of what she was doing in class, especially when it's something authentic and hands-on.  And, since my daughter is in a one-to-one iPad classroom, I love it when I see something amazing she has worked on with her group of classmates that incorporates an application or website where she can be creative and still apply the content of the curriculum to whatever she is working on. While it is tempting to haul out the Holiday word searches, color-by-numbers, and word-sort worksheets, please don't use Christmas as an excuse to knock Bloom's back into the dark ages.
5) If you don't use these three weeks wisely, you'll probably be wishing you had them back in a few months!
How many times have you ever said, or heard a colleague say, "Boy, I just don't know what I'm going to do with all of this extra time I have! My kids already know everything in this unit, I've covered it all completely, and the curriculum writers built in so much extra time, I'm going to have to scrounge up something else to incorporate!" Uhm, never! We never say that because there's always too much to cover, too much to reteach, and too much to squeeze in!  So, if we don't continue to teach to our fullest these three weeks (and pray that our little friends are focused enough and ENGAGED enough to stick the information in their brains where it can be retrieved again!) we are essentially giving up at least three weeks from the spring to go back over what we were supposed to have taught these three weeks.  And, let's not forget, teaching means a transfer of knowledge, so it isn't enough to just SAY the information, the knowledge has to actually transfer. The only way that is going to happen is if we get creative and find some fun ways to teach our students at a high comprehension level with authentic hands-on activities, like technology projects, writing assignments that allow them to choose a topic of their own interest to research and report on,  and real-world problem solving.
We all know that this is a difficult time of year to be a teacher  The kids are excited, we're both excited and exhausted, and we worry that our students just won't retain anything when they finally return after New Year's. Let's continue to work hard, encourage each other, and try to do something magical each day that will really give our students the opportunity to stretch their minds.   It really is the most wonderful time of the year so let's spread that wonder into the curriculum as well!

The Dreaded Month of October!

It's been quite a while since I found the time to post anything. There are a number of reasons for that. First of all, like all of you, I've been very busy getting back into the swing of things.  This is the time of year when students, teachers, and administrators need "stuff." One of my jobs is to help make sure people have what they need--in the form of resources and materials, information, or just a big pat on the back! That has certainly kept me busy.  It's also a time of information overload. Teachers don't have much free time to read a blog post and if they did, chances are they wouldn't have time to actually absorb the message.  So, I've taken a little break from blogging.  But now, it's October--that month when everything starts to roll downhill. It's time to refocus, re-energize, and remember why it is we chose this profession in the first place.

At the beginning of the year, teachers are still "high" from the fumes of crayons and new pencils.  Our passion for education has been softly simmering beneath the surface all summer, and now it's time to unleash all of that pent up energy and let the creative juices flow!  Over the summer break, we have thought of thousands of amazing and creative ways to insure that this school year is the best yet!  Through August and most of September, we were excited to come to school.  We loved seeing our kids, seeing our colleagues, and getting into the swing of things. Of course, we had a lot of information thrown our way all at once--new programs, new student expectations, new staff members, new procedures and protocols. We handled it pretty well for those first few weeks.  As time went on, there were more changes and tweaks, new things to implement.  We found out we were "doing it wrong" a few times or that we weren't quite meeting the standard for what-have-you.  "Oh, I'm supposed to stand right here when I hold the crossing guard sign?  I did not know that!" "I have to check both boxes and initial here?  Good to know!"  Now, the swing we were "getting into" is swinging a lot faster and it's getting harder to hold on.
Our kids are different, too.  They are no longer as excited to be here.  They do not greet us with the same enthusiastic smiles, nor do they hang on our every word to see what magic will pour forth.  Their energy supply has started to run low as well, not as low as ours but they are no longer running on a full tank.
Collectively, we know that Thanksgiving Break is out there somewhere. We can't really see it from here. It's like a distant dot on the horizon, more like a splotch than an actual form.  But we know it's there.  We also know that we have a long, long month of October to go before we can even think about tracing little hands and turning them in to turkeys.
So, how do we get from October 1st to Thanksgiving Break without losing our minds? It's not easy. If it were, there'd be no talk of  the "October Dip."  I have three suggestions that I hope will make your October a little more Spooktacular and a little less Dreadful.
1) Ask questions!  If you need help with something, please ask someone. Anyone.  And if they can't or won't help you, ask someone else.  Everyone has a lot on their plates right now but chance are, the things that are weighing you down are not the same things weighing down  a team mate, administrator, or instructional coach.  So, ask for help.  There are a plethora of people around you who are here to help and support you. Never feel like you are drowning without at least signalling for a life preserver.
2.) Help someone else!  Nothing makes me feel better than when I know I have lightened someone else's load. Even when I have a ton of my own work to get done, I never miss the opportunity to help someone else. Gratitude from others goes a long way toward changes our mood and our perspective.  Just a few minutes each day assisting someone else is sure to improve your own state of mind and their's as well.
3.) Focus on the kids.  Take a few moments each day to look around your room and appreciate the children that you work with.  Notice, I used the word children, not students.  As I grow older, I notice that time passes by much more quickly. Our kids have not reached that point of perspective yet.  For your kiddos, this may be a landmark year for them. You only get to be in kindergarten once. If they celebrate Halloween, they've got a lot to look forward to! This is a great time of year for family outings to apple orchards and pumpkin patches. Let your kids have the opportunity to share their lives with you.  Even if they don't have family experiences to share, they will still have autumn moments--crushing through leaves, feeling the changing wind on their cheeks, brilliantly colored sunsets--to discuss. Give them the chance to talk to you about all of the amazing sights and sounds October has to offer and you'll start to remember why it is that we are so lucky to have the opportunity to work with these amazing little people. After all, do you think there's anyone sitting in a corporate office right now who just got 22 hugs because she showed up for work?  Probably not!
If you work in CISD, you have 8 weeks until Thanksgiving Break. Make them count.  Take each day and make the most of it.  And if  there's anything I can do to help you get over the October Dip, I'm always a few clicks away!

TCEA 2014 Presentation

This blog was born at TCEA 2013.  For those of you who don't live in Texas, TCEA is the Technology Computer Education Agency and once a year they do a huge conference and expo in Austin.  There are thousands of educators there, all excited about learning how technology can benefit their classrooms.  This past year was the first time I have had the opportunity to attend and it was such an amazing experience, I was very excited when I was chosen as one of our district team members for the 2014 conference.  I don't consider myself a tech guru by any means but I do love to write so I use a lot of social media to talk about education.  I've been blogging for about 6 years but it was only while I was at TCEA that I realized that an educational blog would be a great benefit to other teachers in my district, and really anyone who is looking for additional resources to improve their knowledge of best practice in teaching. So, while I was at TCEA, I started this blog, and, so far, I've been very happy with the response I've gotten from other teachers in my district and elsewhere. I've had a lot of support from my building principal, former assistant principal, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in our district, and lots of other district staff and fellow teachers.  I know that people are benefiting from what I have to say, that it is improving instruction and making a difference in how they feel about coming to work each day. While there are lots of topics I haven't talked about yet, this blog has definitely given me the opportunity to have my voice heard and help influence others in a positive way.
In order to attend TCEA 2014, we were required to propose a session to present.  I put a lot of thought in to what I wanted to propose. Having only attended TCEA once before, I really didn't expect to be selected to present.  I wasn't even sure if my topic was something people wanted to know about.  I proposed a session titled, "Bloggers Lead the Way!"  It's about how to use a blog format to influence instructional practices on your campus.  I am a firm believer that leadership is not a position and that anyone can be a positive change agent, even in small ways, if they have great ideas and they are willing to accept that challenge.  Blogging is a great platform for sharing ideas, opinions, what works for you, what doesn't.  Some times it is difficult for others to admit they need help or they have questions but one can peruse a blog in complete anonymity. The goal of the session I proposed is to teach other instructional leaders and aspiring leaders how to use blogging to influence others and provide necessary information to help improve instructional practices.  I don't recall seeing any similar sessions last year, though there were several about blogging in general.  I wasn't sure if it was a good thing that I was proposing something different or if I would just be supplying the review committee members a good chuckle.
I was extremely excited when I received the email yesterday that my proposal had been accepted! It is a great honor to be selected to present at TCEA.  Even though I know that there are thousands of other people who will also be presenting, I know that these are extremely talented, dedicated educational leaders and to have the opportunity to join them is both humbling and exhilarating.  Of course, it's also a little nerve-racking and I'm happy that I have about six months to get everything together.
Over the course of the next few months, as I begin to prepare my materials, I would really appreciate your positive feedback.  What is it about this blog that makes you continue to read?  What types of posts are the most interesting to you? What do you wish was different? If you were going to start a blog, regardless of the topic you were going to cover, what information would be beneficial to you before you started? If you are willing and able to leave comments that will be of benefit to me, I greatly appreciate your help.
I am really looking forward to TCEA 2014.  If you are going to be there, please check out my session and if you are presenting, let me know so I  can attend!  It's sure to be an amazing experience!