Take Advantage

Teaching isn't easy, but some years are just easier, and I've learned that when I have one of these years, I need to take advantage of it!

If some years are just easier, then naturally some years are just harder (I blogged about one of these years, a few years ago, here) -- sometimes because of particularly needy kiddos, sometimes because of demanding families, sometimes because of new coworkers, and sometimes because of personal life outside of school. Whatever the challenge, some years it takes longer to get into routines, more time to teach new concepts, and it may never feel like you can fully relax in the classroom. This is hard, but it's part of the job. Looking down the hallway, and talking to other teachers, I suspect that the next few years are not going to be so easy. All the more reason to keep pushing myself to be creative and try new things. Of course, it's all made so much easier with the help, encouragement, and support of amazing teammates -- so that's another thing I'm trying not to take for granted! 

Last year, for me, was one of those years.  Looking back, it was a combination of kiddos and coworkers, and some new things for me (like having an intern and using new curricula).  I tried to take advantage of those challenges by pushing myself to be especially reflective and honing my management skills.  It was still a great year in a lot of ways, but truthfully it wasn't too hard to say goodbye. 

This year, on the other hand, has been one of those rare years that, frankly, is just going smoothly (knocking on wood)!  I've got the same team (plus an incredible addition) that I had last year, this is now my third time teaching a full-year of our curricula, and most of our kiddos are pretty easy-going.  This is a crew that can handle open-ended activities without getting too crazy; they can adjust to a flexible schedule without getting overwhelmed. They work together well and can reflect on their own learning without too much structure or encouragement. 

So what have I been doing new this year? Let's see... we started the year with a collaborative growth-mindset oriented math challenge. We've done an "Escape Classroom" at the end of each of our math modules. We have had open-ended math lessons, launched from read-alouds and inquiry questions.  We've have had free-writing afternoons and "class-keeping" (i.e. "housekeeping") chore charts. 

These activities have been great for the kiddos and I definitely want to do them in the future, even if I have a less adaptable group.  Fortunately, now that I've had some success (and learned from some of the less successful experiences), I'll feel more confident trying these activities again. Some teachers are comfortable with a fair amount of chaos and uncertainty in their classrooms, but try as I might, I am not one of those teachers. 😬

Me by the Numbers

Of course, at the beginning of each year we always start with those obligatory "getting to know you" activities. Now that we are departmentalized, I wanted to do those general "meeting and greeting" activities with my homeroom, but I also wanted to do some more math-specific activities with each of my three math classes.  We did not rotate classes for the first two days of school so that we could have a little more time to bond with our new homerooms, and then on day three we did a "practice rotation" with slightly shorter periods and extra time for reviewing expectations. Our math activity on this day was something I called "Me by the Numbers."

This activity was particularly important for this year because, for the first time in a few years, I had never taught any of my students before.  Because I've moved grades a few times, I've had quite a few classes where I've actually already taught at least half of my kiddos. Even when I hadn't taught a particular kiddos, I had known all of the students in the grade reasonably well and could often remember anecdotes or details about them from their previous teachers. This year, though, I had never taught this cohort -- I'd moved to fourth grade by the time they were in first.

The connections I build with my students and their families is one of the things I value most, and it's a huge contributor to my classroom management approach.  So this year I was really nervous about how I would connect and bond with so many (58!) new kids and families. Granted, I'm still at the same school, so there were a few kiddos in this crew who I had known as babies when I taught their older brothers or sisters, but for the most part, we were all new to each other.

As it turned out, I had no reason to worry because these kiddos are such loves! They wanted to know everything about me as much as I wanted to know everything about them. I shared my own "Me by the Numbers" and added in some stories about my pets, where I went to school, and how long I'd been teaching. They were so into it!

Then, while the kiddos were working, I got to walk around, ask questions, make connections, and learn more about each them -- how many siblings do you have? what are your hobbies? how long have you lived in the neighborhood?  Instead of sending these home after we completed them, I held onto them so I could refer back to them during the first few week as I tried to put names and faces with personal details. I've found it really helps to know who likes sports, who loves to travel, who has pets, and who is an only child.  I don't necessarily use these facts all the time, but when I want to write a meaningful word problem or share a great book, I know who I can turn to!

 

Making Time

This school year has honestly been one of my best, top three perhaps (knocking on wood!), and yet I've found it hard to stop, pause, reflect, and write about what has been going on in my classroom. Why?  I'm not entirely sure. I think a lot has to do with giving myself the time.  In this "New Year Season" I've been seeing a lot of memes, posts, and reminders to take time -- really, to make time -- for yourself, especially as a teacher. Most of these seem to be geared toward working out, which I should also do more of, but I've realized that part of the reason I hesitate at the end of the day to sit down and write about my day, and the adventures I've had with my kiddos, is that it means slowing down. The words don't always come quickly and easily, it's messy, and takes time! 

It's so much easier to just keep going, to create the next lesson, to plan the next activity, to write the next assessment. This work, for me, is easier -- and feels more "practice," "purposeful," and "necessary." But of course, as I recognize every time I sit down to write (or work out for that matter), it's just as important, if not more. And feels great -- once I do it. 

After a quick look through previous posts, I've written this same message (i.e. "haven't blogged in awhile, will write more now, blah, blah") at least three times in the past, but here we go again. 

And maybe I'll work out at some point too. 😉