Bubbles and Lifesavers

So the last day of school is kinda' crazy, because there is a big assembly, and then you have to find something to do for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, I'm exhausted from completing report cards, trying to close down the classroom, filling out forms, and the many things I've tried to do to make the end of the year special for kids.

This is my best trick for that day:
We return to our room, and each child comes up to the "hot seat." It's a red painted wooden chair. I give a little talk about observing them all year long. And how some bubbles keep floating and stay strong how others pop. And each of them has some kind of inner strength. Then I say sometimes we all need someone to throw us a lifesaver, to keep us swimming and prevent our sinking. And I offer to throw them a lifesaver to keep them afloat in 5th grade.

I think ahead of time what I might say about each student. (I especially plan for those tough ones. You know who they are.) Warning: This is a truly intimate experience, and some classes can handle it better than others. In front of everyone I talk about a real strength in that individual and an area of weakness that they need to hold onto that lifesaver and work really hard to overcome. When they leave the hot seat they get some bubble gum and a lifesaver--one individually wrapped bag is more than enough for a class.

This year was especially fabulous! It lasted the rest of the morning. Students wanted to add examples of strengths they had seen. They were very respectful to me and each other. They also loved that I told them a job I thought they might have when they grew up.

I'm big on giving kids something to hold in their hearts and that really does it. It's a definite success for the year.

Celebrate Successes Week

It's hard to believe the school year is over! I got crazy busy with life, standardized testing, and a reading festival. In that process I neglected this blog (and myself and my family:( !)

But I'm back with renewed energy and focus to make this a great way to connect, share my passions and visions, and connect with community.

I'm going to start out by sharing some of the great successes in this school year. So stay tuned for some fun ideas that worked well.

For now let me say that I was able to make it through the year of learning how to balance home and school with more success than I could have imagined. Was it perfect? Nope. Was I torn? Yep. But it worked.

Part of the secret to our success was that my husband brought our son to school everyday (except 3!) this school year. At the beginning of the year I focused on nursing him. I would have never thought to do this on my own, but another teacher had already blazed the trail. Later in the year it was just mommy time.

My students were fantastic. They eat lunch in our classroom, but when they saw Sam they would pack up and head toward recess. When the baby was there we did lock the classroom door to avoid any surprise visits!

This made it a lot easier for me to be away from my guys, and it conveyed a great message to my coworkers and students that my family is very important, too. This was definitely a success of the year I am celebrating, and I know I will miss it next year.

Grades: What's The Point?

So it's report card weekend. For those of you who don't think the whole world revolves around the school bus and lunch schedules, it's my least favorite weekend every nine weeks.

I frantically search through late work kids turned in and award as many points as I can. I then enter grades into an "objective" computer program. I then complete checklists and write comments for every students.

So during this dreaded weekend I feel guilty if I'm doing anything except the above mentioned activities.

Now if I believed that these report cards were a real measure of students growth and progress I'm pretty sure the rock in the pit of my stomach would alleviate. I don't believe for a moment that these grades present a real picture of anything except who has mastered the school game called "grades." In fact last week when I looked over grades to that point all students who were earning Ds or Fs either lacked home support or organizational skills or manifest a significant learning issue. So basically kids get penalized for stuff over which they have limited or no control. On the other hand there are many kids who put forth minimal effort who look like shining stars. I find this all sooooo frustrating!

And now I'm going back to the stack of late work to plug in grades so that some kids will be given an over-inflated view of themselves and other students will be completely deflated.

And so I ask, what's the point?

Podcasting Grant

I've wanted to do podcasting with my students for a couple years. Our bookmobile librarian brought her equipment 3 years ago, and students wrote scripts reviewing books. It was great fun for all involved.

So here I am without the equipment and a bit of fear, but I faced the fear and applied for a microgrant to purchase mics. I also think I could create podcasts to help kids learn and practice concepts we are studying.

Now I need people to vote, so if you read this, please vote today.

http://www.weareteachers.com/web/intervention/mg_vote


Thanks!

Snow Day Gift

I can't even express how surreal today seems. This snow is not from today--Oh, no. It's been piling up, but did it get us a snow day? No, way!

So, of course, when I could see the pavement on my street and just a little ice build up on the car, I didn't even think to check the computer or my messages for a snow day.

Imagine my surprise when my husband I bundle up the baby, and they take me to school (one car family), and there are no cars in the lot! We dash home to see if this is just a delay, but no, school is closed.

At first I didn't know what to do. It's been a really good day! I've done laundry, moved some furniture, written lesson plans, taken my son to Baby Time at the library, and gone out to lunch.

I can't even imagine a better gift than this today!

Mondo Beyondo Dreams

I'm just wrapping up a 5 week class called Mondo Beyondo. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to identify and pursue personal dreams!

I made a great list as part of the course. One of my items was to take more college classes/earn more degrees. One thing I really took hold of from the class is letting go of the struggle and seeing what will come to me. (This does NOT mean I'm sitting on my behind doing nothing.) So can you believe that I received a crazy email which might me catapulting me right into an amazingly affordable masters program???? I'm still just kinda going hmmmmmmmm. . .

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

This is one of the most thought provoking 20 minutes I've spent in a professional capacity in quite some time. I'd love to discuss it with others.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html