Something Good!

I love that Jennifer at Rowdy in First Grade is trying to promote some optimism with her linky party!

{which totally puts this song in my head!}

I'm definitely needing to push myself to do this. Life has been... well, kind of stressful lately, so I'm going to make myself think of 3 for each.

Something Good at School:
1- It's FALL BREAK! Wooo! We have just one day off, but it feels incredible to be sitting at home right now.

2- One of my ESL students who came in as a Level 1 (very low English skills) is picking things up so quickly. He still struggles, but he finished his personal narrative, and I am blown away by all that he has learned already. I can't wait to see where he ends up in May.

3- I'm doing an integrated literacy/ social studies unit right now. I went to a really wonderful week-long class this summer, and I'm getting to use some of the planning and resources now. It's going so well, and when the teacher came to observe me, she had so many positive things to say, too!

Something Good at Home:
1- My husband has been uber-supportive lately. Last weekend I went out of town and he knew that the sheet multitude of laundry I needed to do was leaving me feeling swamped and overwhelmed. He did almost ALL of my laundry for me while I was gone! We've only been married a year, but this Sunday is the anniversary of when we first started dating- SEVEN years ago!

2- I got to spend last weekend helping my "twin" celebrate one of her last weekends as a single lady! She and I have been friends since we were 2 and 3 years old, so it means a lot to me that I get to be in her wedding in a few weeks.

3- Currently a looot of our money goes toward my husband's tuition bills, but we only have one more fall payment and one more semester until he will graduate and (hopefully) get a job! We may have to move, but... man, will it feel nice to be done with those payments for awhile (even if it means we have to pay off student loans next).

Whew. A little optimism does the heart good! Time to get some work done so grade cards can go home on Monday!

Simple Ideas to Make Life Easier in the Classroom!

There are a few things that I am just plain loving lately.

When kids come in the room, they turn in homework to a tray by the door, and anything else (lunch money, permission slips, etc.) to a special basket on my desk. It works so well to collect everything, but if I had any notes about dismissal, I used to tend to forget about them by the end of the day.

My solution was to hang this cute bulletin board by the door! One of my best friends made this for me as a gift, and I love it. Now, it's not super thick, so the pushpins stick out a bit, but it works great for keeping dismissal changes right where I will see them at the end of the day!

This cute Crayola tin is filled it with binder clips (which I LOVE). I leave it under my paper clip dispenser, which was cheap at Wal-Mart and has a magnetic wheel in the middle. I can spin the wheel towards me, and it picks up the paper clips!

Yes, kids are tempted to play with it, but honestly... I think it's fun too so I don't mind having to remind them occasionally :) Plus, keeping it out on my desk has helped the two kids with the new classroom job of putting papers in number order and then clipping them together. I'm really not sure why I didn't make this a job sooner, because it is one less step I have to do while grading!

Target had these for $1 a few months back, and I snatched them up. I have one for each Treasures unit, and inside is where I keep spelling and vocabulary cards for each week. I have List A in one color, List B in another, and vocabulary words in a different color. 

 For $1 each, they're keeping my many many index cards organized! Worth every penny!

Ahh, my PaperPro stapler. This isn't really an idea as much as it is a thing, but... I am in LOVE with this thing! I had one that broke after a few years, and bought one that looked similar...  but it won't open like the PaperPro to staple flat. And I need one to open flat to do bulletin boards!

I put up with it for a few months, but finally broke down and bought another PaperPro. Lesson learned. Don't get one that 'looks' similar. Get the PaperPro one. It's loud, but it's the best stapler.

 A few weeks ago I was going to have a sub, and plans changed at the last minute. First thing in the morning, a student threw up in the classroom. I realized that, if there had been a sub, that person would've had to go through my plans to find the number of the nurse and custodian.

I realized it would make more sense to have important numbers right on the phone- so I put them there. So much quicker than looking them up every time! (I know- should've been a no brainer!)

So... those are some things making my life easier in the classroom lately. Considering the crazy that is the end of the year, I'm trying to take the time to appreciate some recent changes that are working for me!

Also, this is completely unrelated to the rest of the post... but does anyone know where I can find some cute footprint clipart? I really want to digitize this game and share it with you!

P.S.- I've added an 'email me' button over in the sidebar! :) Feel free to say hi or ask a question!

A New Teacher's Perspective: A Little Known Reason to Use Data in the Classroom

Whew. I went to bed at 7 last night and I'm feeling much better. I basically relied on fake enthusiasm to get through the day, and it worked. No major meltdowns (which have been almost daily for one of mine lately) and my lowest kid finally made it past 50 words a minute! (Yes, the goal for the end of the year is 90, but he was stuck in the high 20's/ early 30's for so long that this is a HUGE victory!)

I know some teachers that hate data-driven education because it can be so much extra work and time to individually assess each kid. And it definitely can eat up a lot of time. But my first teaching job was at a school that had been labeled "failing" four years running, and I was hired as an interventionist (along with 5 or 6 others) to help turn it around. My job and that school required constant data, and while it was a lot to fit in, we ALWAYS knew how each child was doing on every reading and math standard and in reading fluency. Our groups for researching and RTI were changing every 3 weeks at least.

My new school is terrific, but it is just starting to work with so much data. Many of the teachers here aren't excited about taking data or don't really know how to use it. It is nice to have less testing, but I've grown accustomed to the knowledge that comes with so much data, so I try to fit in what I can.

One of the best things about data is one that you will never find in a scientific article or newspaper piece on school reform. Data gives me feedback on how to teach better, but data also builds my confidence so much, because I can tell that these kids really are making progress because of me. As a new teacher, data gives me validation that I am doing something right. In some cases, it gives me validation that just because one kiddo is going nowhere, the other kids' scores show that my teaching isn't useless.

Data also gives you ammunition to advocate for a child, whether it can be with parents, a medical professional, or another educator. It can give the student a way to build confidence and motivate extra effort, too. The biggest thing data offers, though, is feedback about what worked and what didn't. Of course, every teacher needs to look at what didn't work so they can improve or reteach, but I think for new teachers, the other is just as important.

It's so valuable to remember that even when you feel like you're treading water, and grade card time is wearing you down, you have done something for these children. And data is the perfect, objective way for you to prove it to yourself.

Yesterday, when I was feeling so down on myself as a teacher, that new data point made me stop sulking and start celebrating my accomplishments this year. I plan on improving- this year and every year of teaching- but I can still celebrate what I've done so far, and I'm so glad this kid helped me remember to do it.