I’m not going to talk much about what’s going on in the world. It makes me anxious (anyone else?). Instead, I’m going to focus on sharing what’s working for us and invite you to do the same.

I am the type of person who thrives with structure. When it’s missing, I feel stressed and uncomfortable. Planning keeps me sane, and I love knowing that I have planned way too much when children are involved. For me, part of the plan is always following their lead (and sometimes ignoring half the plan to learn from their discoveries!). Conveniently, this seems to be really helpful for my family too. Please know that everything I’m sharing here is to help provide the structure my family needs to continue feeling as normal as possible. Your family may need something different. I think one of the things we can celebrate about sheltering in place (which I hear we’re about to do) is that we’re getting to know ourselves and our families better. So, you do you, I’ll do me, and we’ll love each other from 6 feet away.

Weekly Plans

We had fog the other day, and my preschooler was so excited and curious about it! I have been learning about Reggio-Inspired teaching recently, and this sounded like a great way for us to follow his lead and make some discoveries.

I created a plan for the week, focused on weather. (I always over plan when I’m first trying something, so this level of detail is comforting to me!) Feel free to use as much of it as you’d like. It’s completely free – just click anywhere in this sentence to get it.

So far, we’re halfway through Monday, and we’ve done less than half of what I had planned! That’s just fine with me. Now I have more in my back pocket for the end of this rainy week!

I’ve also planned out most of our meals, because we are trying to avoid shopping as much as possible. By planning ahead, we know what we have and are using up the things that will go bad.

The plan includes lots of links, because my brain keeps trying to focus on Covid-19 related things. Having the links keeps me focused on what’s happening here in my house, rather than trying to keep those ideas in my head!

Daily Schedule

We started this last week, and it has honestly been the best thing ever. It helps us remember to keep up our daily routines, like getting dressed and ready for the day. We are also less likely to sit in front of the TV all day if we have other ideas. I’m not a huge fan of screen time, but at times like this, there’s a definite temptation to just let that go. The daily schedule reminds me that our goals still exist, and the things we enjoy are still fun!

I made a simple set of printable cards we’re using at home. They’re very similar to the cards I’ve used in the classroom, so they are great for keeping things similar to how they were before we began social distancing.

Centers

Having play-based centers set up throughout the house has been really helpful, because it means Dad and I are able to keep up with our work (he is full time currently from home and I am part time and always work from home). Those are on the second page when you grab the file.

For us, it’s been helpful to have our centers spread out throughout the house. It allows us to see more than the same four walls all day and keeps things feeling normal. I would use the same centers for a preschool weather unit at school, so you could certainly do the same!

As with school centers, I put out the supplies I want to use for whatever skill I’m looking to work on (mostly fine motor), and anything the child wants to add is welcome. Today, we started with paper, glue, and cotton balls. My preschooler taught me that paint was essential for making his clouds look like today’s sky.

There are as many possibilities for creating as I can come up with. In addition to making this more fun and allowing the child to lead, it gives them the opportunity to express whatever is on their minds.

Practical Life

I recently learned about this in researching Montessori teaching techniques. (Can you tell I’m using this time to learn about everything I possibly can?) We’ve been having a hard time keeping the food contained with a spoon, and this practical life activity seemed like the perfect way to address the issue! Bonus: it got 2 thumbs up from the preschooler!

Art Displays… Kind of Like School

We’re working to balance adult and child needs, and I think it’s working pretty well for us right now. We’ve created an art gallery to display works of art. We’ve given each one a title, and we are practicing writing our name on each one. It looks similar to a classroom display, so that creates some extra comfort in terms of school routines. We are also cleaning up the centers that are in the main living areas at the end of the day. So, that helps with adult needs.

Elevating the Everyday

Andrea Dekker has a great blog post about elevating the everyday. She posted it ages ago, but it has been a game changer for us right now. We’ve brushed our teeth by candlelight, created faces with our snacks, and made celebrations out of cleanup time. Rainy day picnics have taken place in our living room, and the families in our neighborhood have done shamrock hunts for each other. Basically, we are doing whatever we can to keep growing together, enjoying each day, and letting go of the parts of the day that are less than perfect. At the end of the day, I think the most important thing we can do right now is continue to foster emotional stability and maintain physical health. Everything else is a bonus.

My students spend so much time talking! I’ve tried rewards, I’ve tried consequences, I’ve been clear with my expectations. So far, nothing has worked. What do I do to get my students to stop talking and start working?

Aaaah. The age-old question asked by teachers of preteens everywhere: How do I get them to stop talking!?

The most difficult part of this issue is that I think we really need to challenge the assumptions within the question itself. And truly, I get it. My fifth graders could talk like it was their JOB. But this is the nature of their development, and if we’re going to build relationships with them and help them learn, we’ve got to find a way to embrace who they are.

As a person who talks to learn, I absolutely understand the need to talk in class! If you put me in a room with a book, I’ll enjoy myself. If you let me hang out with others who loved that book and will discuss it passionately for hours, I will discover more about the book, others, myself, and possibly life itself than you ever thought imaginable.

So how can we embrace the preteen chatter and bring the learning to a developmentally appropriate place? I believe the best way is to build in opportunities for communication whenever possible and help students see the value in what they are doing.

Here are a few things that work for me:

Modeling

Full disclosure: This is sometimes really challenging! At the beginning of the year, it’s easier to remember to wave to a colleague and find another time to ask my quick question, because I remember that the students are looking to me for leadership. When the holidays approach and I’m exhausted, I can sometimes forget. It’s in the moments when my students are misbehaving that I find I need to look inward.

Almost every time, I have been the one to slip up as much as they have (if not more!). When I realize it, I own it, apologize for my mistake (even though they did the same thing – after all, I am the adult!), and ask if we can all return to the appropriate procedure. In third and fourth grade, students are often happy to hold me accountable. Fifth graders (and up) are less likely to care about holding me accountable, but they definitely appreciate my willingness to own my mistakes. I’ve also found they’re more likely to work with me if I hold myself to the same standard I’m holding them to (and after all, isn’t that only fair?).

Mini Lessons

Whenever possible, I keep my teacher talk and direct instruction to fifteen minutes or less, and that time ideally includes at least one opportunity to turn and talk. Reading and Writing Workshop are great for this! When appropriate, the workshop model is also a huge asset in math. I’ve found particular success when the topic is one where student ability levels vary.

Constructivism

In both math and science, helping students construct their own understanding can be a powerful learning tool. I may pose a question to start the lesson, and students then take responsibility for discovering the answer. With this model, the closing reflection is key to be sure students’ understandings are accurate. The 5E model is also helpful in science.

Student Goal Setting

My students and I set goals at the beginning of the year, and we create a plan to achieve them. I share my teaching goals and let students see when I’m trying new things. Each person in the classroom talks with an accountability partner about their goals, and we spend a few minutes every week or two talking about how things are going. Students give each other advice, encourage each other, and learn to hold each other accountable in a kind, productive way. When we have free time, students work toward their individual goals, and we have whole class celebrations when they achieve them, if the student is comfortable with it. This builds in time for talking that is productive and helps students learn how to set goals and support others.

Explain Why

At the beginning of the year, I teach my students to ask why we’re doing something if I haven’t explained it adequately. There is a purpose to everything, and I want them to have a clear understanding of the reasons behind each assignment and how it relates to their individual goals.

As a student, I did not memorize my multiplication tables. The purpose of doing so was completely lost on me. (Yes, I was the student who could do the task… I just wouldn’t without a good reason.) In fact, I managed to get through my entire academic career without knowing them. It wasn’t until I tried to throw a party in my 20s and was counting on my fingers in the grocery store that I realized why those facts were important. I memorized them with my first fourth grade class. It was the most embarrassing, humbling experience of my life. A few years later, a student asked me why we memorize facts, and I was finally brave enough to share the truth. Every single student in that class mastered their facts. It was incredible.

A few years later, one of my fifth graders had no interest in writing. I explained that writing was important in every job, and gave a few examples. Because I’d encouraged them to challenge me, he very politely explained that no one writes anything on the football field. There would be no need for writing in his chosen career. After a discussion of the importance of communicating with fans, reading and revising contracts, etc, he was happy to remain focused and created a wonderful story for younger football players. He just needed to understand why.

Boundaries & Procedures

I’d be remiss if I didn’t include this. Of course there are times when talking is simply inappropriate, and it’s our job to help students learn that. We practice the procedures for our classroom routines, and I am lovingly picky about how they are done. If we are chatting when we transition from mini lesson to work time, we simply try it again. No reason to start our work time if we’re not focused on what we’re doing. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of clearly, kindly naming what we want and practicing the procedure until students achieve it.

For me, the key to all of it is this: Know my students. Love them for exactly who they are. Believe that they can, and expect them to rise to the occasion. They always do.

In 2019, I discovered the power of taking a small, imperfect step. Knowing that perfectionism can halt my progress, I have stopped pushing for right and started encouraging myself to try for enough.

It’s a tricky prospect at home, where I know my four year old is watching my every move and taking in the lessons I may not have intended to teach him. At school, it’s a whole different challenge, knowing that every move is being evaluated by state tests, formal observations, walk throughs, etc.

My trick? Stop caring about everything all at once.

When I worry about every little thing, I begin to flail. I’m not thriving… I’m barely surviving. The truth of the matter is, I could always be a better teacher. There is always more to learn, and there are always ways to grow. My students deserve the best, and I feel I must give it to them. When I hear myself going to this place, I have to hit the pause button.

It’s all true, but it’s not helpful or productive. My students learn from seeing me handle my failures well. They discover that the process of learning is not filled with endless successes, but actually begins with a series of failures and challenges that eventually lead us to that beautiful light of understanding and mastery.

Choose a focus

I once worked in a school where we were to choose one area to focus on for the year. As a new teacher to the district, I was exempt from the expectation for the first full year. My priority was to find my footing. What a gift!

I spent the year learning best practices in social emotional learning, discovered new techniques to try in all subject areas, and unearthed the power of backwards planning. Other teachers were experts in various subject areas, because they had spent years focusing on an area of interest. They taught short classes after school to share what they had learned with anyone who was interested. I learned more in one year than I had in four years of college. It was an incredible experience.

As we know, not all schools and teachers have this luxury. A few years later, my family moved to a different part of the country, and I found myself overwhelmed by the teaching requirements. Thankfully, I returned to what I had learned about focusing on one thing, and I decided to spend a year learning about guided reading. My students scores soared, nothing suffered as it would if I had tried to do all the things, and the next year, I focused on guided math with equal success.

Decide on what you don’t do

This was so hard for me, but it was also essential. I decided that I don’t do over the top classroom decor. It works for some people (and if that’s you – rock on!), but for me, it’s a huge stressor that ends up distracting from my instruction. If I have great volunteers who have wonderful art skills, I’ll do a classroom transformation that relates to something I’m teaching. If not, I just don’t do it. My classroom is still neat, organized, and inviting. It’s also generally decorated with things the students have created. For me, this just works better (and saves tons of time).

I also don’t stay late more than one afternoon a week once the school year has started. Planning and grading still make their way home at times, but limiting my extra hours keeps me focused, balanced and sane.

The 2020 Challenge

So here’s my challenge for you: Choose 1 thing to focus on for the rest of 2020. If you’re a data person like I am, you might choose something based on your students needs. Maybe you’d rather choose something you’re interested in or something you’d like to work on. It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s one super focused thing (so guided reading as opposed to reading instruction). Then, let everything else be the best it can be without going crazy and keep your focus on improving that one area. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!

Happy New Year!

January is a great time to revisit goals we set in September or to start the process for the first time. Typically, I’ll show students my actual goals and progress monitoring. I take out my personal planner and my goal-setting sheets, so they can see my process and decide what might work for them.

This is particularly helpful, because I often set multiple personal and professional goals throughout the year. I use different tracking systems and strategies to achieve each goal, so they can see a variety of tools. If this doesn’t work for you or you don’t feel comfortable sharing yours (or you don’t use a system – some people are more successful without one!), I’ve included some images of mine that you’re welcome to use with your students.

Student Goal Setting

Depending on the group of students, I’ve done this really simply using printer paper and colored pencils or crayons or with a handout or other scaffolding tools. In either case, the quality of my modeling has a direct impact on the quality of goals my students set.

Here are a few things that work for me:

Be Specific

The more specific a goal is, the more likely we are to achieve it and typically, the more thoughtful and purposeful it is. For example, in order to become a better reader, we have to consider what makes a good reader. What do good readers do regularly? What might be missing from your reading life that will help you become a better reader?

So be a better reader is one option, but a better goal would be practice reading regularly.

Make it Actionable

This is one of the keys to goal-setting success. We improve if our goals include things we can actually do. For students, making it really concrete is also helpful. So, rather than trying for a goal of improving my reading level, I’d focus on the actions I can take.

We might improve the goal above to say read for 20 minutes each day

Plan for Success

This was a turning point for me as an adult – when I knew what success looked like, I was able to reach my goals much more effectively! I’m always mindful of including this point in my mini lesson, so students are able to picture what succeeding will look like. This will be easier with some goals than others.

Perhaps a student ultimately wants to have all their fast facts memorized. Success might look like completing a particular assessment in a given period of time. With reading, it can be trickier, especially for those of us who are less inclined to focus on student reading levels. I’ve had students set the goal of reading a particularly challenging text. Several years ago, Harry Potter was a popular goal in my classroom. In order to do it, they knew they needed to flex their reading muscles regularly and build really strong decoding and comprehension skills.

With our reading example, we might modify the goal to be read just right books for 20 minutes each day so I can eventually read Harry Potter.e

Monitor Progress

I often show students a few examples of my own progress monitoring: my Goodreads page is a great example for students who like to use technology to track their progress, though I always remind them to talk with their parents before using any digital tools.

I also share my water intake tracker. My goal is to drink 8 glasses of water a day (obviously still a work in progress!). I point out that I haven’t reached my goal yet. If the class is ready, we might talk about evaluating whether our goal is achievable or if it needs to be broken into smaller steps, as I did with my 5K.

Professional goals are also helpful to share. When I was in the classroom, I would often share exactly what I was working on with the students. They were always eager to keep me accountable! This was particularly helpful if it was something I could track publicly. One year, I worked on wait time and kept a tally on the board each time I remembered to use it.

My 2020 writing goal would be a great one to share with students: I plan to publish 24 posts in 2020. This came about as I was seeking ways to pay it forward and share what I’ve learned with others, as well as continue writing regularly (an essential component of a writing teacher’s life). Google sheets is already working beautifully as a progress monitoring tool!

Know Yourself

I always point out that everyone is different, and every goal is different. Some people feel success when they are tracking a particular goal. Others feel that certain goals shouldn’t be monitored because it can steal the joy.

I ask that students try monitoring their progress with whatever goal they set and be mindful of how the process works for them. This is an important opportunity to learn something important about themselves, and it will serve them well to experiment and determine what process makes them most successful.

Share Your Goals

We typically write our goals, then share them with an accountability partner or post them in the classroom. If we’re displaying them, I always warn students ahead of time, so they can pick a goal they’re willing to share.

Reflect

Reflection is an essential component of this process. Some people are firm believers in setting goals with a time limit and checking back at the end of that time. I absolutely see the value in this, but it just hasn’t worked for me in elementary school. I find it’s often too long a period of time for students, and I tend to forget about the goals if we’re not checking in on them more regularly.

My students and I reflect on our goals as part of our weekly routines. Each Friday, we wipe down our desks and check in with our accountability partners before packing up. We’ll celebrate anyone who has achieved a goal or a milestone toward a goal, and sometimes have a class meeting where people can ask for advice from others. Some students choose to leave themselves a sticky note to remind them of their plans for next week or a quick word of encouragement to find Monday morning.

Do you set goals with your students? I’d love to know your process. Feel free to share in the comments or share your goal setting pictures and tips over on Instagram.

Being the kind of teacher who loves analyzing student data and reflecting on my own practice, I find that goal and intention setting can be really productive and meaningful for me. So here’s a little look into my process and a peek at what I’ve learned this year:

A few clear goals and an intention work well for me.

I am a HUGE fan of Happier (Gretchen Rubin & Elizabeth Craft) and Happier in Hollywood (Liz Craft & Sarah Fain), and I loved setting 18 goals in 2018 and 19 goals in 2019.

However, at the end of 2018, I realized I had no idea what goals I had set at the beginning (despite my beautiful graphic)… I just knew I hadn’t reached my 18 goals! In 2019, I listed my 19 goals somewhere… and started actively working on the only 2 goals I still remember: complete a 5K and read 50 books. And I achieved both!

Inspired by Liz and Sarah, I also set an intention for 2019: Discovering Joy. I realized that I had spent so much time focusing on achieving professional goals and dealing with challenges that I had forgotten to do the things that bring me joy. And after having a little one, I found that outside of being a mom (which I absolutely love), I didn’t actually know what brought me joy anymore. I have learned so very much about myself this year, and I am not surprised to tell you that the journey has also made me a better mom.

Using my daily planner for goal setting and tracking my goals makes a huge difference!

I discovered a love of planners in 2018 and found that Passion Planner is by far my favorite, with Happy Planner being a decent second place at a lower price point (if you get all the coupons etc). Each week this year, I would write my goals, reflect on my progress, and plan out my activities for the week.

Because I wrote Run a 5 K by the end of the year in my planner so often, it became a focus for me. My running was planned out in advance, so I didn’t have to waste time and energy making decisions – I just did it. Decision fatigue is a very real thing, and removing that element and a huge impact on my willingness to get out there and run.

I also tracked my reading habits on Goodreads and loved seeing the number increase with each completed book. My abandoned books rate was significantly higher than I would have expected, and I found some new authors I really enjoyed! This has seriously improved my reading life!

Small steps can lead to big things

Gretchen Rubin says: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. This saying has been a game changer for me as a recovering perfectionist. It’s fine to take a small, imperfect step in the right direction. It’s the first few steps that are often the hardest!

Running a 5K has been a lifelong goal of mine for so long that it became to seem inconceivable that I’d actually complete it. I decided this was an excellent, low-stakes way to test out Gretchen’s theory and made this a 2 year goal. That’s basically unheard of for me, since I am generally a let’s just get this done kind of girl.

Breaking this into a 2 year task brought me so much more joy than it would have if I had just pushed through it. In 2019, I planned to simply complete one with some combination of running and walking. My sister, who is an exercise science professional, recommended None to Run, and I found huge success following the program. Although I took several breaks throughout the year, I never felt that typical obsessive pressure to complete the task. Moving my body brought me joy, so I just happily continued on in whatever way worked best at the time.

I now recite Gretchen’s phrase to myself regularly, and it has made all the difference.

I am me

For me, water is better than coffee, napping can mess with my insomnia, and prayer/meditation have significantly improved my life. This isn’t true for everyone, and plenty of people swear by a quick power nap. Many other things that work for others just don’t work for me. That’s ok! Sometimes it’s just as helpful to know what doesn’t work for you (going to bed too early) as it is to know what does (tracking my water in my planner).

Gratitude is a powerful tool

By setting the intention to discover joy this year, I have rediscovered the power of gratitude and found that singing along to the radio, playing tag, and reading books can be just as important and purposeful as crossing that essential task off my to do list. While a daily gratitude journal, photo log, reflection, or other tool may be helpful, I’ve found expressing my gratitude in the moment is key. Whether it’s to thank those responsible for creating the moment or saying a silent prayer, it’s been awesome to see that each time I say thank you, I discover there’s more to be grateful for.

Thanks so much for reading along, chatting with me on Instagram, and checking out my TPT store. I am so grateful for each and every one of you!

Confession: One of my favorite series on almost every blog I read is the weekly links post. I love checking out what other people are reading, and I find the posts often stretch my thinking and help me discover sites I would never have found on my own.

So it should come as no surprise that we’ll be doing some links here. They probably won’t be every week (at least not at first!), because I just feel like that would be a bit much. After all, we’re just getting to know each other!

My links will be a mix of everything – some education focused, some things I’ve just found interesting, and some I just liked. I hope you’ll share what you love too!

Incorporating Play-Based Learning in the Elementary Grades

If you’re passionate about play-based learning but not sure how to effectively integrate it while still effectively teaching the standards, this is a great place to start.

Why Self-Care Isn’t All About Bubble Baths And Champagne

A great reminder of what self-care is (and is not). Always good to remember that we must be good to ourselves in order to be good to others.

It’s Playtime

This article from the National Association of Elementary School Principals inspires me to continue searching for the balance and finding ways to bring meaningful play into my classroom, because research tells us we should! My favorite quote from the article: “The Common Core State Standards do not preclude play for kindergarten students. And they should not serve as an excuse for removing it from preschool classrooms even though anecdotal reports indicate that that is happening.”

What It Really Means When We Say A Neighborhood Has “Great Schools”

I don’t have the answers to this, but it’s something I’ve thought about since I unearthed the truth about school funding in college. It was a mental question when I was in my first years teaching in one of the wealthiest school districts in America, and it troubled me when I intentionally moved into a Title 1 school a few years later.

As a parent, I think about these issues often, especially since we’re in the middle of a move and have become quite familiar with the resources mentioned in the article. I have found it frustrating (but sadly not surprising) to see how heavily test scores are weighed on some of these sites. There is so much more to consider than the scores students get on their tests! Are they playing? What are the class sizes? How much time is given to recess? The arts? How is the social-emotional curriculum? How are students being taught to think? Which is given a greater priority in the school district – thinking or correctly answering a test question?

One Of My Favorite Blogs Recently Turned 20!

I have read this blog for as long as I’ve known there were blogs, and I loved his book The Sweet Life in Paris.

A quick picture snapped. A brief, silent prayer. A joyful reflection on the day as we drift off to sleep. Each of these simple elements has contributed to bringing more happiness, light, and peace into my days, as I make a choice to express gratitude for the small things that make up the wonderful life I get to live.

Research indicates that regular expressions of gratitude can play a positive role in our health and well-being. In addition to fostering a positive outlook, a daily gratitude practice can help us build relationships, improve mental health, and even boost physical health.

If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily. – Gerald Good

Our classrooms are filled with children who are likely experiencing a significant amount of stress and anxiety, and we are working hard to create days filled with joy, wonder, and discovery. One way we can support our students is to help them create a daily gratitude practice of their own.

Thanksgiving is on the way, and teaching students about gratitude is a great alternative to the Pilgrim and Indian lessons we seek to correct, especially for those of us who love the idea of being grateful for what we have but seek to re-frame the holiday entirely.

Here are a few ways to incorporate gratitude into your classroom at Thanksgiving and beyond.

Daily Gratitude
The easiest way to implement daily gratitude with your students is to have a share circle at the end of the day. Gather as a full group in a circle (we do this complete with coats and backpacks). Go around the circle and have each person share something they’re grateful for.

You could also create a small journal for each of your students and have them write (or draw) what they’re grateful for at the end of the day. As part of your morning meeting, a few students could share what they wrote the day before, which would help set the tone for the day.

If you are a one-to-one school or have access to a good amount of technology, there are a number of digital resources that would work well for daily gratitude. Students could create a presentation in Google Classroom and upload an image from the day or write about it. You could do a collaborative gratitude board for your classroom using Padlet (Trello would also work, as would a word cloud generator).

Write Weekly or Monthly Letters of Thanks
In younger grades, this could be a center that’s always open. I would include a ring with the names of people your students want to thank, along with special paper, blank cards, envelopes, and a variety of writing tools.

In upper grades, this could be something you do every Friday. In my class, we do Weekend Journal on Fridays, so we might do Thankful Thursday letters instead. (An important note: I do these in addition to Writing Workshop, when students are allowed to write something of their choice, typically related to our unit of study. I sometimes borrow time from Writing Workshop when the schedule is tight, but I try not to replace their free choice time. If I didn’t have the flexibility to do this, I wouldn’t do both Weekend Journal and letters of thanks during the same week.)

Model
Students echo so much of what they observe from the adults around them. When we cultivate an attitude of gratitude, thanking others and expressing our gratitude for even simple things, we can help students do the same.

Have a Gratitude Circle
I’ve participated in a similar activity as an adult, so this could easily be part of a class meeting or a team/staff meeting. One thing that makes it run smoothly is to clearly set the expectations ahead of time. We sit in a circle and give a word of appreciation for the person sitting to our right. The person to the right listens and says thank you.

One thing I’ve noticed as both a participant and an observer is that hearing the feedback is more challenging for some folks than giving it. It’s important that we are able to receive the complements, appreciation, and love being shared with us by others. This is a skill that some of us (read: me!) had to be explicitly taught. For others, it may come more naturally.

With students, it is important to teach the difference between genuine appreciation and surface compliments. After all, there is a big difference between saying, “I like your new haircut” and “I am so grateful for the way you always help us see the strengths in our writing pieces. Sometimes, it’s hard to try a new skill, and I always feel better when you notice that I’ve tried it.”

Teach Ways to Show Gratitude

Co-create an anchor chart that you can use as part of your class meetings to help remember ways to express gratitude. Refer to it regularly throughout the year to help inspire you!

References:

Giving thanks can make you happier (n.d). Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier

Morin, Amy. (2014, November 23). 7 Scientifically Proven Benefits Of Gratitude That Motivate You To Give Thanks Year-Round. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/11/23/7-scientifically-proven-benefits-of-gratitude-that-will-motivate-you-to-give-thanks-year-round/#4165e9cc183c

Flannery, Mary Ellen (2018, March 28). The Epidemic of Anxiety Among Today’s Students Retrieved from http://neatoday.org/2018/03/28/the-epidemic-of-student-anxiety/

Mother Nature is calling on us to make changes to the way we interact with the world. We try to use less water, be mindful of what we throw away, turn off the lights, and generally be good stewards of what we have.

I must confess, though – All my efforts to be good to the earth tend to stop when I enter the school building! I find myself throwing away stacks of worksheets I copied and never used or throwing away perfectly good materials that no longer fit my style. It’s always made me cringe, because I strive to model what I hope to see from my students.

After reading Zero Waste Home (which was at the same time wonderful, inspiring, and so completely overwhelming that I began reading it in small chunks…), I decided to start a list of ways I could reduce waste in my classroom. In addition to helping me do my part for the environment, I have become mindful of my educational choices (after all, I want students to be creating with what they learn more often than they are completing a rote practice worksheet). In the long run, this is also way better for my finances, because I’m not as drawn to the Dollar Spot at Target (well… at least not as frequently!).

Each of these ideas is simple and easy to implement. I found it even improved my instruction. I started with trying just one thing (a scrap bin, because I had an extra crate!). If we each implement one new idea every month, who knows how far we can go!? So here are 5 tips that have worked for me. I’d love to know what works for you!

Tallest Tower Challenge

Use Fewer Worksheets

Have you heard of a week without worksheets? This might be a great place to start if this is your first step into using less paper in your classroom.

I am generally not a worksheet person (though I do believe in the importance of practicing particular skills), and I still find I go through a lot of paper! I ask myself every time I’m standing at the copy machine whether those copies are essential. It’s a strange habit that has actually caused me to put down the workbook and step away! My teaching improved dramatically when I started asking this question each day.

A Few Replacements for Worksheets:

• Writing Workshop: Students spend most of their time writing. I almost never use worksheets for this.
• Reading Workshop: Students spend most of their time reading books that they’ve chosen. Very few copies needed, and huge growth in reading skills.
• Science: 5E Lessons have been a game changer for me. Simply and practically speaking though, I just try to think of ways I can get the children to drive their learning. When I want to teach the scientific method, I create a problem to be solved. What should we use for cleaning up water spills in our classroom? Test out various brands of paper towels or compare paper towels to cloth towels.

Interactive notebook for problem solving… and I only photocopied 2 pages!

Reduce Paper Use

A few years ago, I learned about Interactive Notebooks, and it changed my teaching forever. No longer did I feel the need to print a full worksheet just so students would have the task at the top of the page and plenty of space for their thinking. I’m cringing just thinking about how many almost blank pieces of paper I printed while notebook pages sat unused!

Here are a few ways I handle this now:

• Type the task multiple times on a sheet of paper. Cut it out, and have students glue it into their Interactive Notebooks.
• Print the task on each side of a piece of paper. Fold the paper into a table tent. Use for learning centers or group work
• Have students create the task on whiteboards, solve a partner’s task, then check and compare answers

Class Scrap Box

Have a Class Scrap Box

Put extra paper of all sizes into a scrap box. In younger grades, I split the scrap box into big pieces and smaller pieces. In upper elementary, we just mix it all together. We use paper from the box for any crafts, posters, practice work, etc.

Practicing Sight Words With Rocks And Sticks

Incorporate Recycled and Natural Materials

My son taught me this one! He is forever creating experiments using supplies he’s found in the yard or on a walk. We take a collection bucket outside with us most of the time, and we bring in whatever he finds that we may need.

In the younger grades, sticks make great tools for building letters, loose parts, and math manipulatives (acorns work just as well as erasers from the Dollar Spot… and you have the benefit of counting them when you come inside).

In upper elementary, these materials can be used for a STEAM cooperative learning challenge. Put various materials on the table and invite students to create the strongest structure, tallest structure, or a structure that can do something. My students made some incredibly strong structures using only materials they found in our classroom recycling bin.

Place Value Practice With Dice, Base-10 Blocks, & A Laminated Place Value Mat

Practice with Games

Some things just have to be memorized – math facts, spelling rules, important dates, etc. These are things we just have to know. I try to embed this practice into classroom games, which typically increases movement, reduces time, and reduces paper!

I use Match It games during Morning Meeting or as a way to form groups. These games use just a couple pieces of paper for the whole class, and we reuse them frequently throughout the year. They are also great as exit tickets (ex: tell me the sum, then line up).

There are lots of math games that can be played with dice, decks of cards, and other materials we have in the classroom. I try to use these as much as possible for review and warm ups, so we’re just using a worksheet for our weekly assessments.

BONUS! Use Recycled Materials for Classroom Storage

I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to figure out how wonderful shoeboxes are for storage! They are easily decorated (and can be a great group project for your students at the start of the year), and are basically the same size as the containers I tend to use for craft supplies. It’s important to label them clearly (and draw a picture if your students aren’t reading yet), because they aren’t clear like the storage containers I usually use. However, they are PERFECT for storing stickers, small containers of glitter, extra pencils, etc.

Diaper boxes are my other new favorite storage system. Depending on the size, they’re great for storing paper, notebooks, and games for learning centers. These can be trickier to redecorate in an eco-friendly way, because they often have a shiny coating that isn’t easy to paint. Tape is one way to cover it, and recycled paper is another. This is a great use for those copies I know I’m not going to use and would typically throw away. If you’re less picky than I am, just using the box as it is would probably be the best option!

Inspired by the amazing Modern Mrs. Darcy (as well as my desire to be a true lifelong learner, making daily discoveries and testing their impact on my life), I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learned. These may or may not be teaching related, and they’ll definitely vary from very simple facts to things I may ponder for months to come. Everything will be something that made me smile or helped me thrive. I hope they do the same for you!

The National Anthem Is Broadcast Daily In Thailand

I was recently taking a workshop with someone in Thailand, and they paused briefly in the middle to apologize for the sound. As it turned out, they live right near the speakers where the national anthem is broadcast each day!

Daily Prayer & Meditation Works For Me!

I am infinitely happier, more grounded, and simply a better version of myself if I start the day with prayer and meditation. For a while now, I’ve been reading the daily Bible verses from YouVersion right when I wake up. I literally hit the button to turn off the alarm, take a few breaths, and click to the Bible verse of the day.

Lately, I’ve added a short prayer/meditation to start my day (nothing fancy – I just pray for as long as it takes the coffee to brew, and/or try to use a meditation from the Calm App). I also try to do a sun salutation or other very brief bit of yoga each day as well, which helps keep me feeling grounded and balanced.

Positive Walkthroughs In Schools

Credit: Dr. Marcus Jackson

Call me crazy, but I LOVE receiving feedback from administrators, fellow teachers, and coaches. It helps me continue to learn things I can immediately apply in my classroom. However, traditional walkthroughs give me serious anxiety, as I know there is a checklist that will track how well I’m doing in that exact moment. (And inevitably, that pressure makes me so nervous I miss forget to use great techniques that are typically part of my daily practices, never mind the new skills I know administrators are hoping I’ll be implementing!)

I recently read a great idea for positive walkthroughs from Dr. Marcus Jackson. He has a list of things he hopes to see (on a school-wide level) and makes a tally mark each time he sees it. There’s no constructive feedback in it, but I think if I were part of this type of walkthrough, it would inspire me to try increasing the number in that area, rather than creating the fear of making a mistake that often causes me to freeze.

When I return to full-time teaching, I’m planning to try this technique in my classroom. I’ll make a list of things we hope to be doing as a class (writing in full sentences, using vivid verbs, etc), and each time we see each other using that skill, we’ll add a tally mark. We can even try to beat our own records each day!

Water > Coffee

As a teacher/mom, I have kept myself going with coffee more often than I’d like to admit. Starting a daily practice of drinking lot of water and tracking my water intake in my planner have been complete game changers for me. If I drink 8 glasses of water in a day, I am way more awake than if I have an extra coffee (or 3… who do I think I’m kidding here?).

The key for me has been drinking a full glass of water right when I get up. I put a full glass on my nightstand before I go to bed, and I try to drink the whole thing before I consume anything else. It sets a really positive tone for the day!

Asking For Help Is A Strength, Not A Weakness

I made a HUGE mistake this week and overbooked myself completely. We’re in the middle of a move, I’m just starting to tutor online and am loving the classroom connection, and I’ve started coaching soccer. Rather than say no to the extra soccer sessions when a colleague asked me to cover, I accepted, knowing I’d be overwhelmed. This would have been fine… if I had simply let my husband know I’d be overwhelmed and asked for what I knew I needed.

Instead, I said yes to coaching (at a distance, no less), welcomed a family visit, and traded sleep for coffee. By day 5, I was an exhausted mess… certainly not bringing my best to my family or my work.

My lesson? Ask for help. It’s been a good thing every time I’ve done it. When chaos begins to ensue, things go better every time when I look at the choices I’ve made, scale back to something manageable, and ask for help where I need it. I have more fun, accomplish more, and learn so much from those around me.

I’d love to know… What have you learned this month?

I decided to be a Stay at Home Mom just before my son’s third birthday. My part-time job was consuming more than full time hours, and I felt less than present everywhere, all the time. I missed my son, I felt my family deserved more from me, and I hadn’t had a moment to think or breathe or exist as a person in months.

The one thing I knew (possibly the only thing!) was that I absolutely wanted to return to teaching when our family transitioned into school age years. I love teaching and will always have one foot in the field.

I did a brief stint at home before this. It was awesome… until winter came. And then, I had to return to work. After months of hibernating, I started to go a little stir crazy, and I knew my little one wasn’t getting the social experiences he needed and deserved. So, I headed back to work to give us both a little taste of sanity.

On my first day back at home, I told my husband my plan for saving our sanity. “We’ll survive winter!” I boldly declared. He paused, looked me straight in the eye, and said: You deserve more. You should not be surviving anything. You deserve to thrive. Let’s figure out how you will thrive.

And in less than 5 minutes (plus a few months!), this little corner of the internet was born.

Teaching is a lifestyle, as is being a stay at home parent. Both require planning, organization, commitment, and endless creativity and enthusiasm (at least the way we do it!). Frighteningly, my passion for both can steal my joy if I’m not careful to fuel my own tank, work with my systems, and remember that surviving is not thriving. When I’m surviving, so is my family and so are my students. It’s ok, but it’s not really fun. We live, we learn, we’re fine…

But when we’re thriving, we’re unstoppable. We create! We explore! We laugh, sing, dance, and discover everything God has provided, and we celebrate the joy in each moment. That’s not to say it’s perfect – just that we’re thriving and can easily take the setbacks in stride (sometimes with a little giggle over the craziness of it all).

I hope this is a place where you can be refreshed and rejuvenated. My goal is to provide resources that help us all thrive, as well as experience acceptance, love, and grace for the moments when we’re simply surviving.